The Crimson Moon
by Peace Sign Freak
Summary: The story used be titled Luna's Bloody Secret. This tale is set back in October of 2010 and is sort of a request from a reader. What would happen if Cody got to take the fall for Zack without even knowing and turn into a werewolf?Cody will crave more than raw meat and a certain farmer's daughter will bewitch him. Read to find out and enjoy the story.
1. Cursed Life

**Author's Note: I couldn't take it anymore. A very significant reviewer has made it clear what they want from me. I am not a suck-up, but I also don't like displeasing people.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the names and/or characters that I make up.**

It was October 16, 2010 and silence overtook the city of Boston. Until recently, Boston used to be a peaceful city with minimal disturbance but that luxury had been taken away. Two months prior, the citizens of Boston had been plagued by an unknown, merciless threat. Police were on constant look-out for whatever was causing the death of so many innocent citizens. For weeks on end, there always would be a new report of how another unexpecting person had been struck by some sort of beast that would dig its fangs into their neck and tear apart the skin from the bone, exposing the soft tissue, muscle and blood. The horrendous creature had to be stopped but whenever police officers got close to the beast, it would lunge at them, leave barely enough blood for them to live off of and then run away. One night, the beast was identified as a wolf as a police officer was able to get close enough to it to see what it was. The gray furred wolf growled at the police officer and then tore off an arm of his, clean off the socket. The wolf had a vast bloodlust for human flesh. The wolf chewed on the detached arm while the police officer screamed in such anguish that a baby could cry from the disturbing noise from a far off place. The unfortunate police officer lost more than his arm, but his life that night as he laid still like a rock, slowly bleeding to death. Afterwards, the police force doubled the amount of officers on their night shift. For five days straight, police officers did their best to rid the city of the bloodthirsty wolf and kill it off. When the wolf had arrived in the city, everyone wondered why it was there but they soon forgot their curiosity as they fled the scene to escape the wolf's gluten, wrathful behavior and stay out of sight. Time passed and the day had arrived when utter silence befell the city.

At eleven in the evening, everything was quiet as suspected. Not many people were out walking. For those who were walking, they tried their best to get back home safely and not be caught by the wolf. In the meantime, back at the police station, police officers were gearing up to keep the city protected from the monstrous wolf and had high hopes of killing it that very night and be able to pass the second half of the month in peace and good spirit. As the police officers were getting for the hunt, the wolf was busy stalking his next victim. The wolf's target was a teenaged boy no older than sixteen years old. As the wolf watched the boy walk leisurely down a sidewalk, the creature stayed behind a pair of bushes that resided in a public park. The teenaged boy was whistling a tune while he walked back home. The wolf waited patiently for the right moment to strike. Just as the boy crossed the street and got close enough to the wolf, the male creature jumped high out of the bushes and tackle the boy down to the ground. The teenaged boy screamed in horror as the wolf feasted on his flesh. Some passerby saw what was happening and instantly called for the police. They got the urgent message and rushed over as soon as possible. When the police squad arrived at the scene of the crime, they had caught the wolf in the middle of its meal. They drew their guns at the retched thing and had it surrounded. The wolf gnawed on the last bits of human meat and let it slide down between its fangs and down its throat. The wolf glared at the circle of the police squad with angry expressions glued to their faces. The wolf growled something fierce, brandished is sharp, blood cover fangs and sprinted towards a random police officer. The wolf tackled the poor man in the dark blue uniform. His fellow officers ran to help him and the wolf took the opportune moment to escape. The devious wolf ran into the dark void and blended in with the night, quiet yet deadly.

As the wolf was running faster than any average wolf or average man, it was thinking that it was high time to find a new location to feed off the weak and unexpecting. It needed to leave the city far behind and never return. The wolf didn't just have a one track mind for it wasn't really born as a wolf at all. The creature was a highly misfortunate soul to be cursed in such an undesirable body with an appetite for blood to match. The wolf wasn't just a wolf but a werewolf. He was born human but things took a turn for the worst for the young man that once was. As the well hated wolf ran from his enemies, he turned back the clock in his head to a time when things were simple, when he was human and he did not want to drink blood or eat human flesh. The wolf looked back at his former life before things had gone awry.

Flashback:

_It was two years ago at the Tipton Hotel when Carey Martin got a call from her ex-husband, Kurt. He had called from the home phone number while Carey was with her and Kurt's twin sons, Zack and Cody. The two adults had conversed civilly to each other over the phone for about fifteen minutes. While they were talking, Zack was playing a video game while Cody was reading a book. The younger Martin twin had recently broken up with his girlfriend, Barbara Brownstein, and he and his brother had just turned sixteen a week ago. Cody was reading one of his favorite books which was The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. It was truly an American classic. It was probably the most American novels of all American novels. He just loved the story and a good story usually cheered him up when he had a bad day or when he was still getting his life back on track. Cody was so enthralled in the story that when his mom called for his attention, he was in amazement. _

"_Cody?"_

"_Huh? Did you say something, mom?"_

"_Cody, I just want to you to know that the three of us are going to meet your father in New Orleans. He feels bad that he hasn't been able to see you guys recently and is very sorry that he couldn't come for your birthday so he wanted to invite us to watch his band perform at the New Orleans Arena."_

"_ReallY?"_

"_Yes, really."_

"_When do we leave?"_

"_We leave in two days. You should pack for at least three days. We're going to Logan International Airport and then flying into the Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans. Your father said that he would meet us outside of the airport and bring us to where we would be staying for the time that we're in the city."_

"_But what about school?"_

"_Cody, don't worry. I'll get you and Zack one excused absence so you don't have to feel guilty about not going to school for one day."_

"_Are you sure mom?"_

"_Yes. You two only are sixteen once so you may as well enjoy it while it lasts."_

"_Okay, mom."_

"_Good, Cody. I'm sure that you and Zack will find something to do in the city. I'm sure that there are plenty of neat things going on down there."_

"_I guess you're right, mom."_

"_I know that I am. We're going to have fun."_

_Carey then kisses Cody on the top of his head and walks away. Cody continues to red his book. In the next few days, Zack, Cody and Carey pack for New Orleans to have some family fun with the father and his band. The flight doesn't take very long and the three of them feel good about what may come over the trip. They collect their baggage at the baggage claim and meet Kurt outside the airport as planned. He takes them into a rented van and brings them to their hotel room. He leaves them to adapt to their hotel room while he returns to check with his band. A few hours later and they go to see Kurt's band play at the New Orleans Arena. The band did well and afterwards they had dinner together as a family at a local restaurant. Cody had seafood gumbo while his parents and brother had shrimp etouffee, jambalaya and fried catfish. After dinner, Kurt had to say good bye to his family for the time being and left after her paid for all of their dinners. Carey took Zack and Cody out into town. She figured that they could explore the city for a little bit before they went back to the hotel. She treated Zack and Cody to some beignets and café au lait at Café Du Monde which was a replica of the original café that was located in France. After they had a sweet treat, Carey allowed Zack and Cody to pick something that they would like to do and they decided on going to the heart of the French Quarter to go check out The New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum. Carey was fine taking her sons to the museum so she pulled out her phone for directions and led them to the museum._

_On their way to the museum, Zack, Cody and Carey could see street signs with the names in English and in French and that Mardi Gras beads were strewn over the street signs. They also heard people playing Jazz music throughout the city. They even encountered a skinny, African American man tap dancing from the sidewalk and out to part of the street. It was certain to the Martin family that the city of New Orleans was a surprisingly vibrant city despite their bad luck with hurricanes. When they got to the museum, the admission was ten dollars per person. Carey paid for all three of them and they received pamphlets with some history of the museum. They went down a doorway to their right and walked down a narrow yet short hallway which then curved to the left and led to another narrow hallway but it was slightly longer. On the right wall were photographs or painted portraits of Marie Laveau and her descendants as Voodoo Queens. On the left side of the hallway was a small room with artifacts on display and a few plaques to go with the displays. At the end of the hallway was another small room with other displays and plaques and other artifacts. There was also a display table for visitors who may have wanted to give some sort of tribute to Marie Laveau. People left odd things behind as tribute such as a tampon, a gum packet, hair ties and other odd ends items. In a corner of the room that led back to the hallway that people came from was a wishing tree stump. For people to us the stump, they would read the instructions that was mounted on the wall write down a wish that they had on a piece of paper, pull out a coin and wrap the paper with the wish on it around the coin and then drop the item together in the recommended location of the stump. When Zack, Cody and Carey were done looking through the small yet charming museum they came back out where they had entered, looked at the painted portrait of Marie Laveau as a free, African American woman, they chatted a little bit with the woman behind the table and then bid goodbye to her. _

_Carey looked at her watch and thought that they could spare one more quick visit somewhere in the French Quarter before they would return to the hotel. They decided on visiting a Voodoo shop. They got to the shop and looked around. As time passed by, Zack was getting anxious to leave and lost his common sense. He began to make fun of the objects in the shop. However, this did not rub too well with the shop keeper and he kept an eye on Zack and Cody. Upon their departure, the shop keeper had put on a smile and asked either one of them if they wanted to purchase anything. Cody politely explained that he was saving up for something before they would return home. The shop keeper was blinded by his judgment based on Zack and did not bother to see the difference between him and Cody so he already judge Cody simply because he was Zack's twin brother. Zack declined the shop keeper's offer and left the shop with their mom. The shop keeper went to his spell room and cast a curse on Zack and Cody. The curse would incur that they be shunned by those who would then once know them. The shop keeper was fully intending to affect Zack the most by changing him into a hideous beast with a Voodoo doll but he accidentally cursed Cody because he got the detail of the direction of their bangs wrong. Instead of exacting his revenge on Zack specifically, the shop keeper got Cody as a consequence._

_Later that night, Cody didn't feel well. Carey noticed Cody's change and odd behavior and was very concerned for his health and well-being. Carey called up Kurt that they would have to cut the trip short and take Cody back home to be checked up by a doctor. Kurt was concerned for Cody but Carey assured him that she had things under control. The next day came and the three of them left the hotel and went back to the airport. On the flight back to Boston, Cody developed a craving for raw meat and constantly drank water. When they got home, Cody seemed fine but he continued to eat copious amounts of meat. He changed gradually over time from a veggie lover to an avid meat-eater. Carey and Zack didn't suspect a thing because they believed that Cody was going through a very specific phase in his life and they hoped it would soon pass but they were wrong. Cody eventually transformed into a wolf. Over time, he lost his sense of direction as a human and his wolf side took over. But there were times when the real him came out while he was transformed as a wolf. As time passed by, Cody learned how to control his powers but he still struggled to control his appetite for blood and human flesh. Cody may have not been able to stop himself from eating flesh off people but he was able to prevent himself from killing off his own brother and mom. Cody soon had to leave his family and stay hidden._

The memory of yesteryear faded away in the wolf's head as he had thought of his past life. Cody, in the form of a wolf, ran as fast he could on his four legs. The police squad caught up to him and they were accompanied by scientist who very eager to know what made him tick. They wanted to cut him open and hope to find the innards of an unusual creature like Mary Shelley's fine creation, Frankenstein. He was view as some freak of nature or, at least, a befitting beast in a Grimm's fairy tale. Cody tried to run away from them but his legs were protesting and his breath was becoming short. He lost an immense amount of energy and they finally caught up with him. He couldn't transform back in his human self while in the predicament that he currently was in. A police officer used a tranquilizer on him and the world became dark faster than a blink of an eye. The next thing that he knew was that he woke up on a metal table with a black collar around his neck and a tracking device around his left, front paw. Cody opened one green and yellow eye and saw a group of scientist and police officers talking about what they should do with him. He could only imagine the worst things: mutilation, shock, experimentation, death. Cody didn't want to die. No actual living wanted its life cut short before it could reach its fullest potential. While the scientist and officers weren't paying attention, he took the opportunity if escape and quietly got off the table and slipped out of the laboratory. Cody walked past the guards and got out of the building without being detected. Once he got out to a safe distance, Cody then ran away as far as he could outside of the city. He never looked back and he would run until he needed a break….or until he found a place safe enough to keep the scientists and police officers on their toes.

To Be Continued…


	2. An Unlikely Encounter

For four days, Cody ran without stopping. He ran as far as his four legs could carry him across a distance of just over one thousand six hundred and seventy seven miles in which he ended up somewhere in Kansas. He found a thicket of pine trees and a nice spot of flat ground to lay upon. Cody rested his weary wolf body against the soft, green grass. He laid down in silence and watched the sun roll down from the blue sky and disappear beyond the horizon. He took a nice nap from the time that the sun had set until he woke up at the crack of nightfall. When he woke up in the darkness, Cody searched around feverishly for someone to feast on with his yellow and green eyes. He got up and walked out of the safety of the pine trees. Cody prowled around on the flat ground and looked around for a nearby human being.

After twenty minutes of searching, he stumbled upon a farm. He saw an elderly man bringing in some tools back into the house. Cody snuck up close to him and hid in the shadows of the corn stalks. The man came back out and was checking that everything was in order before he turned in to call it a night. Cody slipped out of the mass of corn stalks and snuck up behind the elderly man. He waited for a few seconds and then attacked the man from behind. He bit right through his neck and blood gushed in all directions. The man's wife came out after hearing the sound of carnage and screamed in horror when she saw Cody pulling out one of the man's eyeballs with his mouth. Cody saw the elderly woman and became angry with her for she had disturbed his dinner time. He growled at her and got up on his hind legs as to stand like a human. He had transformed from his usual wolf form into his wolf-man form. He stepped close to the woman until she screamed bloody murder and ran away. Cody was still a bit tired from running for four days straight so he didn't bother chase after her. He turned back to his meal and ate all the meat that was on the man's body. After he had enough human flesh and blood to fill him up, Cody turned back into his regular wolf form and sauntered across the flat prairie land. Just when Cody thought that he could get away from the farm freely, the farm's wife came back running after him with a shot gun. She began to shoot rounds at him. Cody began to run away and he dodged the bullets as the woman shot at him. He ran as fast as he could and escape from her fury. He finally found a way out and took it. Cody sprinted toward a field of corn and hid inside the tall grain. The elderly woman cursed under her breath as she could not find the wretched wolf and kill him. Cody stayed quiet until the woman stormed off back to her farm and take care of her late husband's mangled body.

When the coast was clear, Cody got out of the field of corn and began to walk on to another farm. He had his head turned to his backside to make sure that the woman didn't come back after him. As he was distracted from keeping a look out for the elderly woman with a shot gun, Cody wasn't paying attention to where he was going and accidentally fell into a ditch. He stumbled down the hole and some twigs and rocks cut up his left front leg. His body stopped falling once it hit the bottom of the four feet deep and five feet wide hole. Cody staggered up to his feet but winced in pain with the cut on his front left leg. He knew that it would be a challenge to get out of the hole not because of the depth of the hole but because of his injury that would weigh him down. Cody clambered out of the hole and up to the top as he fought through the pain. Once he surely was out of the ditch, Cody limped away until he found a place to rest under a pine tree. He takes a moment to settle down on the grass and then begins to lick away the blood from his wound.

Elsewhere, a seventeen year old girl with long, brown and silky hair was finishing up her last chore for the night on her family's farm. Her deep brown eyes watched her hand move in a clockwise motion while pressing down a cloth to wipe a table top. Once she was done with her final chore of the day, she stood up straight at flashed a smile of achievement. She was glad that she was done and was ready to hit the hay. She walked back to the supply closest and had put away the pine-sol spray and the cloth that was used to wax down table tops. She then closed the door to the supply closest and entered the kitchen to find her mother and her three younger sisters. Her mother was a slim woman of average height and had some slight plumpness to her figure. The girl's mother had blonde, short hair that glistened under a light source, whether it be from a light bulb or from the sun. The girl's mother was talking to her sisters and then sensed that her fourth youngest daughter had come into the room. She looked at her daughter and smiled at her.

"Hello, Bailey. I see you're done wiping the tables."

"Yes, mama. What you guys talking about?"

"Oh, your sister Diane had mentioned that she heard a report of old Mr. Johnson being torn apart by some beast. Lila and Sally also think that there's some awful creature lurking about in our area."

"Oh, no. How did you guys hear of the report?"

Diane, who was only two years younger than Bailey, approached her. She had shoulder length, blonde hair and wore a pair of thin rimmed glasses.

"We heard it on the radio. Apparently, there's some wild animal eating people."

Lila and Sally also said their piece as well. Lila spoke first and then came Sally.

"Yeah. Mrs. Johnson believes that it was a wolf with a nasty case of rabies. "

"But then the report was updated and it said that Mrs. Johnson the thing stand up on its hind legs like a human! It is suspected that it might be a werewolf!"

Bailey didn't want to believe what her sisters were saying but she couldn't ignore the fact that there was something out in town that killed Mr. Johnson. She would be on guard as a precaution. She then turned back to her mother.

"Mama, do you really think that there's a werewolf out there? It seems a little too cliché for something like this to happen especially near Halloween time."

"Well, Bailey, we don't know for sure what's going on but we should still be very careful. We don't want to stumble into trouble."

"Okay, mama. We'll be very careful."

"Good. Now, you girls best be getting ready for bed."

Lila, Sally and Diane all give a resounding and unified 'okay' and then went up the stairs to get ready for bed. Bailey was about to follow her sister up the stairs but then remembered that she accidentally forgot something outside. She quickly turned to her mom.

"Mama, I forgot something outside. I'm going out to go get it."

"Bailey, please don't go out there."

"Mama, I'm not going to go far and I'll be really quick."

"But Bailey-"

Bailey had left the house before she could wait to hear her mother's protest. As Bailey was searching for her basket that she used to harvest apples, she heard a whimpering noise come from some pine trees just five feet away from the farm. She carefully lurched forward and leaned over past the pine needles to see something lay on the grass. It was some sort of animal with gray almost silver-like fur. The creature's fur glistened nicely under the moonlight. She looked over its shoulder and saw that it was tending to a wound on its front left leg. She stepped toward it with great curiosity and crouched down and kneeled on the ground.

"Hey, there."

Cody violently turned his head toward some teenaged girl. She had long, light brown hair that laid across her curvaceous chest and clung to the mounds of skin that was covered by the girl's accursed pink shirt. Her eyes were a darker shade of brown than her hair and she fair colored skin that appeared to be smooth and creamy in the moonlight. Her gray, skin tight pants secured her hips and legs in the cloth imprisonment and her gray shoes constrained what Cody figured to be good, slim feet. Bailey looked at what she believed to be a wolf with curiosity. Cody's eyes fixated on Bailey's face and his eyes would occasionally dart up and down her slim figure. He especially seemed interested in the spot between her legs and her breasts. For some odd reason, Cody had conceived a compelling feeling to want to have Bailey as his mate. She seemed to lean in a little close for his comfort level. Cody wanted Bailey to stay away from him so her growled at her. She drew back in fear and realized something very crucial about him which was that he was the killer wolf. She stood up and backed away slowly.

"You're….. a wolf."

Cody growled again. This time, he barred his sharp fangs at her. He stepped close to Bailey until she could see him better as he came out of the shadows. As Bailey backed away from Cody, she saw blood drip down from his wound. She didn't know what to do. Cody looked up at the moon and then howled. Bailey could feel herself shiver from the haunting howl that Cody had let out. He then swiped at her but she stepped away from his paw. He barely grazed her skin Bailey stepped away even more so. Cody huffed at Bailey and then sprinted in another direction. Bailey watched Cody leave in confusion but was most grateful that her life was speared. Bailey quickly returned to her home and picked up her basket as she ran back inside the house. Her mother was right there when she came in. She took Bailey in her arms and held her tight.

"Bailey what happened? What was that sound outside?"

"Mama, I encountered the wolf. I faced it straight on."

"Oh, no! How did you ever escape from it?"

Bailey shivered a little bit in her mom's arms and then lifted her head up to look at her.

"You know, mama, the strangest thing happened."

"What is it, Bailey?"

"The thing is that I didn't have to escape. The wolf just growled at me, attempted to swipe at my legs and then left. Then it sprinted away from me."

"Huh. That is very odd. I wonder what could have caused it to just leave you alone. Well, we should be glad that the wolf chose not to kill you and that you're still alive. Now, Bailey, I hope that you take this as a sign to not go outside at nighttime when the wolf is still hanging around this area."

"I definitely won't go out at night when the wolf is around."

"Good girl. Now, go to bed."

"Yes, mama. Good night."

"Good night, Bailey."

Bailey went up the stairs and went to her bedroom and got ready for bed. She changed out of her clothes and into her pink, pig print flannel pajamas. She tied her hair up into pigtails and crawled into bed. She thought of the wolf and really did wonder why it didn't just for the kill and bite her. Why did it just swipe at her and then run away? Bailey was confused. She thought that wolves were vicious and were supposed to be feared. She didn't get why the wolf that had reportedly killed off Mr. Johnson, but had not kill her as well. She pondered this for a bit and then decided to rest. She had set her chicken clock and turned off the light. Bailey laid her head down and her pillow and looked at the moon. She knew then that she would have to be extra careful while outside and fell asleep.

To Be Continued…


	3. Particularly Selected Ally

The next morning Bailey woke up with the thought of encountering the wolf from the previous night still fresh in her mind. She took a refreshing shower, got dressed and headed down the stairs to help her mom with making breakfast for the family. When breakfast was ready, the current members of the Pickett family gathered around and said grace and then ate their first meal of the day. Clyde, the father, had talked to his daughters about being safe out night before they come inside after doing their chores or going out to do something fun with their friends. Clyde was aided by his wife, Eunice, who also wanted to reinforce Clyde's warning to their four remaining daughters since the other six were married off to a man. All the while that Eunice and Clyde were telling Sally, Lila, Diane and Bailey to stay out of danger, Grammy Pickett had fallen asleep at the dining room table. After the lecture was over, Eunice tapped on Grammy Pickett's shoulder to wake her up and then officially commenced on eating their food.

After breakfast, Grammy Pickett washed the dishes once Bailey and Eunice brought them over from the table. Eunice sent Bailey out to help on the farm while she stayed back to dry the dishes after Grammy washes them. Bailey obeys her mother and goes outside to help her father and sisters to harvest the corn in the morning. When it is time to get ready for school, Bailey and her sisters come back inside to get their school supplies ready and wait for the school bus to arrive. Since they live in such a small town, there is only one school that has all of the grades in it. When the bus arrives, the four Pickett girls board the yellow vehicle and go to school. From eight to three, Eunice, Clyde and Grammy Pickett look after the farm and wait for the four youngest members of the family to return home from school. Sally and Lila do start doing their homework while Diane and Bailey are employed to help out a little bit before they do their homework. When Bailey and Diane are done doing a few chores, they go inside the house to do their homework and Lila and Sally go outside to help pick eggs from the chicken coop and do a few more simple chores. By late afternoon, Bailey, Diane, Lila and Sally were all done with their day chores and with their homework. Eunice allowed her daughters to take a break as they have been quiet busy that day and had gotten more work done than the previous day. Lila and Sally choose to listen to radio during their free time while Diane decides to read a book at the dining room table. Bailey, however, cannot decide on what to do. By luck, her friend, Mary Lou comes over and knocks on the door. Bailey walks over from the kitchen and opens the door to see the red-head girl with green eyes. Mary Lou gives Bailey a wide, closed smile since she doesn't have many teeth to show off. She just has one tooth in the middle of her mouth on the top.

"Hey, Bailey. How have you been?"

"I'm fine, Mary Lou. Thanks for asking. How are you?"

"I'm just dandy. Say, how about you come with me and some other of our friends to a swimming hole and cool off?"

"I don't know, Mary Lou…"

Eunice, overhearing the conversation, walks over to Bailey and Mary Lou.

"Bailey, why don't you go?"

"Are you sure, mama?"

"I'm sure. You deserve a break. Go ahead and put on your swim suit and have fun with your friends. Just remember to come home before dark."

"Okay. I will and thank you, mama."

"You're welcome, Bailey. Now scurry up to your room and put on your swim suit. Your friends are waiting for you, Bailey."

"Okay. I'll be down in a jiff, Mary Lou."

"Aw shucks, Bailey, we got some time to kill."

Bailey was excited. She would be able to cool off after a long day of school and farm work and just when things were still pretty warm for the season. Bailey quickly went up the stairs and went inside her bedroom where she changed into her swim suit. When she had her swim suit on, she threw on some clothes to cover herself and slipped on some shoes to keep her feet protected from the hard ground. She then trotted down the steps and left the house with Mary Lou. As the two teenaged girls walked along a narrow dirt path the meet up with some more of their friends, Mary Lou had a question for Bailey that needed to be answered.

"So, Bailey?"

"Yeah, Mary Lou?"

"What's been going on with you and Moose? Are you two broken up?"

"Yes, we are."

"But why? What happened?"

"Moose and I just grew apart. I didn't feel any sparks between him and I anymore. I didn't connect with him as much as I used to. He's just not the right for me so I broke things off with him."

"But why? What did he do?"

"Mary Lou, please try to understand, I don't see anything special in Moose. He a great guy but he's not for me."

"Then who is the guy for you?"

"I don't know. I think that the only way I would have known who was the right guy for me would require that I left town and have seen the world."

"But do you know what you want in a guy?"

"He needs to be strong enough to work on a farm but also have a good heart and be intelligent. He also has to be honest and be a sensitive, romantic guy."

"Those are all good qualities to look in a guy. But what would you need a smart guy for? Couldn't you just get by with a guy with average intelligence?"

"Oh, Mary Lou, I wish that you could understand why I want an intelligent guy. One of the reasons being is that I would be able to have nice, long talks about poetry and novels that both of us have read."

"So, you like talking about books and poems?"

"Yes, I do."

"I'm sure you'll find a good feller that's right for you who can talk endlessly about books and poems that you two have read."

"Thanks, Mary Lou. I hope so too. By the way, where are we meeting the others?"

"We'll be seeing them at the swimming hole. They're waiting for us there."

"Who will be there?"

"Joe, Suzy, Bill and Moose."

Bailey thought for a moment. Joe and Bill were best friends. They more like brothers. Bill was two inches shorter than Joe and had brown hair that went halfway down his neck. Both Joe and Bill had green eyes. Suzy had straight, shoulder-length, red hair and blue eyes. But then she remembered what Mary Lou said. Moose was going to be at the swimming hole. Bailey could feel her stomach churn.

"Moose is going to be there?"

"Yep."

"I'd wish that you would have told me sooner, Mary Lou. I don't think that it would be a good idea for Moose and I to be near each so soon after our break-up."

"Don't worry, Bailey. Moose isn't intending to harm you none. He just wants to have some fun. That's all."

"Fine but he tries to get back with me then I'm just going to tell him 'no'. I'm through being with him."

"Bailey, don't worry what Moose does. Just think about how much fun you'll be having."

"You're right, Mary Lou. I will focus on just having a good time at the swimming hole."

"That's the spirit, Bailey. Now come on and quicken our pace. We don't want to waste any more time just walking to the swimming hole."

Mary Lou and Bailey quicken their pace and get to the swimming hole just in time. Upon their arrival, Suzy greets Mary Lou and Bailey with a big hug for both of them. The six teenagers settle down and take off their clothes to expose their bathing suits and jump into the cool water. Everyone gets into the water except for Bailey. She takes her time to take off her clothing to expose a fetching, dark blue two piece swim suit. She didn't mean to put on the two-piece because she didn't want Moose's attention but it was the only swim suit that was around at the time since her one piece swim suit was nowhere to be found. Whenever Bailey has her two-piece swim suit on, she feels very exposed and fears that some guy could walk by and see her and believe that she has an exceptionally busty chest, especially for the kind of area that they live in even though she had average breast size. Bailey meekly walks around the swimming hole to find a good place to enter the water. Bailey sees her friends having fun in the water and decides that she should join them.

Meanwhile, Cody had traveled aimlessly throughout the town from the location that Bailey had found him. After he ran into hiding away from Bailey the previous night, he had continued to tend to his wound. Once he was confident that his wound would get better, Cody then set out to find a place for the night to rest his wary body. He made a nice, little nest to sleep in among the tall grass just a few yards away from a nearby farm. Upon morning, he woke up and stretched his legs. Cody carefully walked around the town for most of the day until he felt thirsty. He walked around the area until he found a source of water to drink from right around late afternoon. The source of water was a swimming hole. He came up to the swimming hole and lapped in some water. As he lapped some water in his mouth, Cody could hear the sound of boisterous teenagers having fun on the other side of the swimming hole with his fine-tuned wolf ears. Cody stopped drinking the water and went toward the sound. He kept a low profile and found a nice spot behind a tree to spy on the group of teens. As he spied on them, he spotted one girl getting in the water with a two piece suit on. He noticed how she acted timid, not wanting to go in the water for some reason. He observed her closely and recognized her as the girl from the previous night. He carefully watched her actions in hopes of finding the reason why she hesitated to go in the water. Cody got his answer soon after for what he saw next gave him a clue.

Moose saw Bailey standing in the water knee high. He saw her swim suit and thought that she was just taunting him because they had a nasty break-up. He wondered if she would eventually want to get back together with him. He would gladly take Bailey back in heartbeat but she didn't seem anywhere ready to take him back. Moose waded through the water and came up to Bailey. She stepped back when he got close enough to her.

"Hey, Bailey. What are you doing out here all on your lonesome? You should be in the water with me and the others."

"No thank you, Moose. I'll come in when I'm good and ready. Please, step back so that I have space to walk into the water."

"Come on, Bailey. There's nothing to be afraid about. It's just water."

Moose takes his left hand and gets a hold of Bailey right wrist. She jerks away from him to release her wrist from his grip.

"Moose, please, give me space. I need my personal space. Remember, we're broken up now. Leave me alone."

"But, Bailey…"

"No, Moose."

While behind the tree, Cody didn't like how the human boy was encroaching on his potential mate and how he made her uncomfortable. Cody didn't like the human boy invading the human girl's personal space. He had to do something to stop the human boy from advancing toward the girl any further. Cody growled loud. The group of six friends stopped what they were doing and turned in the direction of where they thought that they heard a growl. Suzy stood up from underneath the water.

"What was that?"

Joe mumbled "I don't know."

Bill hysterically jumped up out of the water.

"Do you think that it might be the wolf that ate Mr. Johnson from last night?"

Bill's friend, Joe, who had short brown hair and freckles on his cheeks, gave him his opinion.

"I don't think so, Bill. It was just one noise. We would know if it was the wolf."

"How do you know, Joe?"

"I just think that we need proof before we go running off back to our ma's and pa's."

Mary Lou waded over to Joe and looked at Bill. "Joe's right, Bill. It probably was just some critter."

"Okay. But if I hear another growl, I'm outta here."

Cody sees that they haven't ran off yet nor has the human boy near his preferred human girl has stepped away from her. Cody growls again. Bill, Joe and Suzy jump in fear. Bill looks over at Moose and Bailey.

"Do you guys think that we ought to leave?"

Moose turns away from Bailey to face Bill.

"I don't think so."

Cody got very frustrated and made his presence known. He walks around the front of the tree and shows himself off to the group of teenagers. He brandishes his fangs and barks at them to get their attention. Everyone screams as they spot Cody walking toward them. He curves around and gets near Bailey. She walks back away from him but he pins her in a corner. Moose goes over to Cody to help Bailey but Cody barks at Moose and he backs off. Cody then begins to circle around Bailey. The others watch in fear to see what will happen to Bailey. Mary Lou doesn't like that they won't do something to help her.

"Why doesn't someone get help? Bailey's in danger and we're just standing her like a bunch of dandelions."

Moose turns toward Mary Lou.

"Well, what you suppose we do?"

"One or two of us should go back to town to get help."

"Oh right. Joe, come with me."

Joe leaves the swimming hole with Moose while Mary Lou, Suzy and Bill stay behind to look after Bailey. Cody continues to circle Bailey but then growls at the others. Bill freaks out and runs away like a chicken. Suzy and Mary Lou cling to each other in fear. Cody approaches them and loudly growls at them. They also run away and try to catch up with Bill. Bailey almost had the chance to escape but Cody catches her by surprise. Bailey is startled by Cody's sharp eye as he turns back to stare her down. Bailey steps back a little too much and slips and falls into the water. She falls down in the water and then swims up to the surface. Bailey tries to swim away from Cody but her left foot gets caught in between two rocks in the water. She tries to break free but struggles to move her foot from in between the two rocks. With so much energy in freeing herself, Bailey becomes tired and lets her body float in the water. Cody enters the water and paddles toward Bailey. He dives down into the water and pushes a paw on a rock and makes it roll away against the soil at the bottom. With Bailey's being free, Cody swims back up and bites onto one of Bailey's straps from her swim suit and drags her unconscious body back on the solid ground. He places her body underneath a tree and looks at her ankle. It is bleeding just a bit. He walks over next to Bailey's left ankle and lays down. He then begins to lick away the blood that has covered a portion of her ankle. As Cody licks Bailey's wound, she wakes up from the tickling sensation. Her eyes flutter open. She sees Cody licking her ankle. Her first reaction is to scream and freak out but then Bailey quickly rethinks on how she should react. She looks at the wolf before her and is confused. It doesn't seem to be the same wolf as before, but it is. Bailey sits up and leans in close to Cody.

"You're the same wolf from last night, aren't you?"

Cody stops licking Bailey's wound and looks at her. Bailey sees the wound on his left front leg and knows that it is him. Bailey curls her legs up to her chest and leans over toward Cody. She then notices some sort of collar around his neck and what seems to be a tracking device around his left paw. Bailey's heart starts to melt for the wolf. She begins to slowly believe that the wolf is just misunderstood and is treated like a monster and thus causes it to act in such a way. Bailey extends her right hand out for Cody to sniff it. He looks at her hand and takes in her scent.

"You know, you're not such a bad wolf…even if you did eat Mr. Johnson. But you probably don't have much of an option when it comes to food."

Cody, feeling that Bailey seems to understands his situation, playfully licks her hand. Bailey laughs as she is ticklish on her hand.

"You poor thing. It's a shame on how people misjudge wolves. I'm sure that not many of them are as friendly as you are but that doesn't mean that all wolves are equally bad. You must be one of those really rare, friendly wolves who only acts as people believe to be so or else you wouldn't feel to have much worth as a living creature."

Cody stops licking Bailey's hand and comes up close to her face. He leans in a sniffs her hair. Bailey brings her right hand up and pets the wolf's head. Cody feels Bailey pet him and in return, he nuzzles his head under her hand and arm and rubs his furry face against her bare shoulder. Bailey lets her arm limply crane around Cody's fur covered body. As Cody rubs his faces against Bailey's bare skin, she contemplates the true nature of the wolf.

"You know, wolf, if you a human boy that's my age, I would be tempted to want to date you and kiss you but you're a wolf and labeled as a killer so there's nothing that can happen. If only you were a boy my age then I would have liked you even more."

Cody hears the sweet words that come from Bailey's mouth and stops rubbing his face against her shoulder. He brings up his head toward her cheek and licks her face. He then trails his licks down to the right side of her neck and then looks straight into her eyes. Bailey feels as though the wolf shouldn't even be wolf in the first place. She wonders if a soul of another living being, perhaps a human, was placed in the wrong body. She closed her eyes half way and focused at the wolf's eyes. She brings both of arms around her knees to bring her legs closer to her chest.

"Are you really supposed to be a wolf?"

Cody couldn't say anything because he was in his wolf form. He wanted to tell Bailey who he was but he felt that it would be too soon to expose his true nature to her. Before Cody could give Bailey some sort of sign, both he and Bailey heard footsteps coming towards them. Cody looked over at Bailey and she looked at him. Cody lightly pawed at Bailey's right arm and then pawed at the dirt. He flicked some loose dirt onto Bailey's arm and then lightly scratched her. Bailey flinched a little bit in pain and then watched Cody walk away from her. Before he was completely out of sight, Cody turned his head back at Bailey and had a sad expression etched across his face. Bailey saw what was going on in his mind and gave him a sad smile. Cody turned his head back to the path in front of him, howled and then sprinted off in the distance. Bailey watched him run off. Just then, Mary Lou came back for Bailey and got her attention.

"Bailey! Are you okay? Did that vile creature didn't hurt you none, did he?"

Bailey stood up in anger but knew her place in the situation so she stayed quiet. Mary Lou saw the cuts on Bailey's right arm and ankle and saw that she had some dirt on her arm.

"Oh no, Bailey! The wolf hurt you! Why, we'll make sure that he won't live much longer."

Bailey wanted to tell Mary Lou that the wolf did save her from being stuck in the water even though he had scared her in falling into it in the first place. Bailey didn't know how to respond, she just stayed quiet and was still very confused about everything that had to do with the wolf. Bailey did wonder why the wolf didn't attack her or her friends or why he became less tense once Moose left. She had no idea how the wolf's brain worked but she was secretly glad that she had an excuse not to talk to Moose. She finally thought of something to say to Mary Lou when she saw her gather their belongings and ask her how she was.

"Bailey, are you okay? Do you need the cuts to be taken care of right away? Do you suppose that the wolf had rabies?"

"No. I don't think that the wolf had rabies because he didn't show any tell-tale signs of having rabies. But I am okay. The cuts aren't as bad as I thought that they would be though."

"Maybe we should still get you to a doctor and have those wounds checked out."

"Sure, Mary Lou. I'll get my wounds checked out."

"Good because I don't want to lose you, Bailey. You're a very good friend of mine."

"Aw, thanks, Mary Lou."

"It's no problem, Bailey. Now, let's get you back to your folks and get out of here before that wolf comes back."

Bailey grabs her clothes just as Mary Lou had done and they walk from the watering hole. As they travel back to the Pickett farm, Mary Lou and Bailey stop to put on their clothes over their swim suits and then continue on their way.

When they arrive back at the Pickett farm, Mary Lou walks with Bailey up to the front of her house and knocks on the door. Eunice opens the door to see Mary Lou and Bailey back earlier than she expected.

"Bailey, Mary Lou, you two are back early."

"Mrs. Pickett, Bailey got hurt. It's possible that her wounds might need to get checked because the wolf came over to the watering hole and got Bailey."

"Oh, no. Bailey come on inside, dear. Thank you, Mary Lou for bring Bailey back home safely. You're such a good friend to Bailey."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Pickett. I just hope that we soon get the darn wolf and do away with him somehow soon. He's infringing our safety in this small town."

"I know. Something will be done about the wolf. Sheriff Bob has called for some back-up from another county."

"Good. Well, I'd best be getting back home to my folks."

"Okay. Stay safe, Mary Lou."

"Thank you, Mrs. Pickett, and I will. Bye, Bailey."

"Bye, Mary Lou."

Mary Lou hugs Bailey goodbye and then leaves the farm. Eunice ushers Bailey inside the house and takes her straight to the kitchen.

"Honestly, Bailey, you're like a magnet to that darn wolf. He must fancy you something terrible, but he won't have you. I won't let that wolf leave another scratch on my baby."

"Mama, I'm fine."

"But you have cuts on your right arm and ankle. What did that wolf try to do you?"

"He didn't try to do much. He was drinking some water and was startled by us swimming around."

"Bailey, I know that you love animals but you don't have to defend the wolf. You know, not all animals are equally good."

"But mama…."

"Oh, hush now. Come over here to the kitchen counter and sit up on it. I'll dampen a wash cloth and clean out your wounds."

Bailey sighed and sat up on the kitchen counter as her mom had instructed her to do. Eunice took out a wash cloth and dampened it with warm water and then mixed in some soap to kill bad bacteria that could have formed around the open wound on her arm. Bailey flinches in pain when the soapy watered down cloth comes into contact with her torn skin. Eunice dabs at Bailey's skin and then rinses the cloth to dab on fresh, cool water to rinse out unnecessary soap that might collect around the open skin. After Eunice finishes tending to Bailey's arm, she repeats the process with her ankle. Once Eunice has cleaned out Bailey's wounds, she fetches some bandages and has Bailey put them on over her wounds. The moment Bailey has bandages over her cuts, Eunice instructs Bailey to hop off the counter and to rest on the couch. Bailey moves over to the couch as Eunice picks up the house phone and makes a call to the doctor.

During the course of a few hours, a few significant events take place. The doctor comes over to make a house visit to the Pickett farm to check up on Bailey's wounds and confirms that she'll be just fine and then leaves. The next thing that happens is that Clyde comes in the house to talk to Eunice and they talk about safeguarding their home. They forbid Bailey to go outside until the wolf situation has been taken care of.

Later that night, Bailey is sent to bed along with her sisters after having nothing to do. When Bailey was in her pajamas and in bed, she looked out her bedroom window and sees the full moon. The stars twinkle brilliantly beside the moon and illuminate the night sky. The sky itself is painted over with two thick coatings of navy blue with a small hint of black. Bailey sighs to herself, thinking of what will become of the misfortunate wolf. Just then, Bailey hears a long and delicate howl that comes from the depths of the night. Bailey leans in over her sheets and listens to the haunting yet beautiful howl. She listens to it until it ends. Bailey knows by that howl that the wolf must be around somewhere close. Bailey settles back into her bed and is about to turn off the light when out of the blue, the wolf comes up to her bedroom window. Bailey is taken by surprise to see the wolf. She gets out of her bed and opens the window. The wolf leaps through the window and lands on the wooden floor of her bedroom. It approaches her with caution. Bailey takes half a step back.

"What do you want from me? You'll only cause me trouble. Go somewhere else and bother some other girl."

The wolf tilts its head at her. Bailey looks at the wolf with sincere eyes.

"Can you understand anything what I'm saying?"

Cody decides to communicate with Bailey in a nonverbal way. He nods his head 'yes'. Bailey is astonished to see that he nodded his head at her.

"You can understand what I'm saying just perfectly fine?"

Cody gives Bailey another nod to the head.

"Then why don't you go and leave me alone? Why can't you make up your mind? Either kill me off or leave me alone."

Cody gets a little frustrated with Bailey's attitude. He transforms into his werewolf form and stands on his hind legs. Bailey steps backward in fear.

"You're not just a wolf, you're a…a werewolf!"

Cody growls at Bailey as he approaches her. Bailey clambers backwards onto her bed but Cody just corners her against her headboard. At once when Cody has Bailey cornered, he leans in near her face. H speaks with a voice that doesn't seem human at all.

"Your blood."

Bailey shakes in fear and shuts her eyes. Cody finishes what he was saying.

"Is not for drinking."

Cody pulls away from Bailey, turns back into his wolf form and leaps out of the bedroom window. Bailey opens her eyes in surprise. She gets off her bed and walks back to her bedroom window. She looks out to see if she can spot the wolf but doesn't see him at all. She closes the window and then returns to her bed. She gets back under her covers and thinks to herself as to what the werewolf meant. She repeats his message out loud.

"Your blood is not for drinking. Hmm…I wonder what the werewolf meant by that. Is he trying to tell me something important? Oh well. I can figure it out later tomorrow. I should go to sleep now."

Bailey turns out the light and lays down in her bed. She nuzzles her head into her pillow and falls asleep.

To Be Continued…


	4. Call For Help

For the next few days, Bailey hadn't seen or heard about the wolf that she met again on Thursday at the swimming hole. She wondered if the wolf left town or might have been caught and killed. She really hoped that the wolf wasn't killed. Even after the thought that she knew that wolf had to be stopped at killing and eating people's flesh, she couldn't help but worry about its well-being. She didn't think that normal wolves should have to eat humans to survive nor did she believe that normal wolves stand up on their hind legs and speak in an abstract way. Bailey could tell from those observations that her town had dealt or still deals with a werewolf. The only thing is she didn't know if the werewolf was still around. And if was still around, Bailey didn't know what she should do to put an end to the killing. As Bailey thought to herself, she went on with her usual business: work on the farm, go to school and do homework and do after-school chores. Bailey used to have a job at Buck's Beauty Barn but there wasn't much business going on at the shop so it closed down. Bailey had been searching for another part-time job to help support her family financially but her main concern was to help on the farm and do well in school. As Monday had passed by the small town of Kettlecorn, night time came. Bailey was doing her homework at her desk in her bedroom when a disturbance occurred in the town. Eunice came up to Bailey's room and knocked on the door. Bailey got up from her desk and opened the door.

"Bailey, come down to the kitchen with me. There's news on the radio about the foul wolf."

Bailey didn't have much time to respond to her mother as Eunice quickly turned back and hurried down the steps of the staircase. The intelligent farm girl closed her bedroom door and followed her mom down the stairway. Once Bailey and Eunice reached the kitchen, the rest of the family surrounded the radio. Bailey joined her family and stood behind Diane as she listened to the man on the radio.

"Reports have come out and have indicated that the wolf that had killed Mr. Johnson still lurks in the shadows of the little town of Kettlecorn. A new report has come in and states that as of tonight the wolf has struck again and took the life of Mr. Weavle. The wolf had done away with him like he had done to Mr. Johnson: he lunged at him, bit through his neck and pulled out his eyeballs before he had been chased away by Mrs. Weavle. The wolf escaped with a piece of Mr. Weavle's face in his jaws. I advise everyone to keep an eye out for the wolf. Also, I highly advice that the men of the households to look out for their lives but mainly to watch out for the elderly, their children and wives. I hope that everyone in town will stay safe. Goodnight everybody and we will broadcast any more updates later."

Everyone around the radio drew back a few steps in shock. The Pickett family was exceptionally concerned for their lives for they knew that the Weavles were their neighbors. They feared for their lives and had become even more outraged toward the wolf. Everyone was on high alert and ready to end the wolf's terror except for Bailey. She did care about losing community members but she feared that the wolf didn't have control over its actions. She wondered how everything would end for the wolf….or werewolf. She knew that the creature was a werewolf but everyone else knew it as a wolf, a bloodthirsty wolf. While her mother, grandmother and sisters were busy barricading the house and her father was getting out some weapons, Bailey idly watched her family get ready for another attack by the wolf. She stayed out of everybody's way and went back to her room to finish her homework. She was hopeful that while she worked, she would figure something out about the wolf situation.

While the town of Kettlecorn made all the preparations for the next wolf attack and hoped to catch the wrenched creature, Cody was busy licking his chops from the human blood that stained his fur around his jaw. He staggered about the flat ground since he had been struck by Mrs. Weavle. He hadn't heard of the radio report but he didn't need to because he could safely assume that humans hated him. He had a limp in his left hind leg and dragged it a few yards before he came close to the backyard of the Pickett farm. He stopped in the middle of the grass and allowed for his body to rest. As Cody rested, he could see a distant dark figure walking around near his general direction. The figure came closer and Cody could see that it was a tall man with a shotgun resting on one his shoulders. He had black short hair with small patches of gray hair above his ears. As the man paced back and forth behind the white house, a slim yet slightly plump woman with a peach colored dress and white apron came out to him. They talked for a moment and then they began to go back inside the house. Cody had moved a bit and made some noise. The man turned around and got his shotgun ready.

"Are you out there wolf!? Show yourself! I'll kill you!"

The man's wife with short blonde hair and put a hand on one of his shoulders and murmured something to him. He calmed down and went back inside the house with her. Cody was afraid that he might have been killed by an angry farmer. Cody stood up and carefully walked toward the front of the house and rounded to see the second story windows. He looked through a window and recognized the teenaged girl that he had seen twice. Cody then made the connection between the man and woman and concluded that they were the girl's parents. Cody hopped up to the overhang of the porch and climbed up to the roof where he could reach Bailey's bedroom window. Cody pawed at the window until he got Bailey's attention.

Bailey was completing her homework when she heard a sudden tapping at her bedroom window. She lifted her up in surprise to see the werewolf. She had set her pencil down and unlocked the window. Cody hopped through the window and landed on the wooden floor. Bailey got up from her desk and approached him.

"What do you want from me? I don't get why you just don't kill me."

Cody circled around Bailey and then sniffed her legs. He remembered her scent and felt comfortable around her. Since Bailey was wearing pajama shorts at the moment, he licked one of her legs which caused Bailey to twitch her leg. She even had let out a short laugh.

"Wolf, I know that you're actually a werewolf. Why do you keep my alive? What do you plan to do to me?"

Cody tilted his head to the right and whimpered. He turned around and went over to Bailey's desk and mounted onto her chair. He grabbed her pencil in between his teeth and tilted his head so that he could write on a piece of blank lined paper. Bailey carefully walked over to Cody and watched what he wrote with the pencil in his teeth. He used crude sentence structure but his message was direct. Bailey looked at the short message that was composed of two odd sentences:

'Need help. Not really animal.'

Bailey raised an eyebrow in question. She looked at the wolf.

"What do you mean that you're not really an animal?"

Cody wrote again. 'Not born wolf. Under spell.'

Bailey studied the words carefully that Cody scribbled with the pencil in his teeth.

"So, you're not a natural born wolf?"

Cody nodded his head to Bailey. Just as Bailey was about to ask him another question, Eunice knocked on her door. Cody dropped the pencil and scurried out of the window. Bailey turned back to the door and opened it.

"Bailey, are you done with your homework?"

"Yes, mama."

"Well, why don't you come down and help us put the finishing touches of safeguarding the house to prevent the wolf from coming in?"

Bailey was torn at the moment. On one hand, she was learning more and more about the wolf and its situation. However, on the other hand, she didn't want to go against her family and make them suspect that there was something terribly wrong with her. Bailey had to make a decision quickly. She looked straight into her mother's eyes.

"Sure, mama. I'll come down and help."

Eunice smiled at her seventh oldest daughter. "Thank you, Bailey."

Bailey left her room and closed the door again as she followed her mom down the stairs. She helped her sisters nail broad boards of strong wooden planks and put them up against the windows. They also found cloths and stuffed them under any doors that had a gap between it and the floor. Once the Pickett family was down with safeguarding the whole house and locking up the animals, they all turned in for bed. Clyde hid his shotgun under his pillow once he and Eunice went to bed. Even Grammy Picket had a rifle under her pillow. Bailey didn't go to bed at the same time of her family members. She couldn't sleep. She looked at her window and realized that she left it open. Bailey got out of her bed and walked over to close and lock her window. As she reached over to close the window, Cody popped out of nowhere on the roof and hopped through the window.

"What are you doing here? Get out before someone sees you! Do you want to get killed?"

Cody ignored Bailey's warning and walked toward her. Bailey instinctively walked backwards toward her bed. Cody cornered her to her bed until she climbed up to it. He hopped up on her bed and brought his face close to Bailey's face. Bailey shook in fear.

"Please, don't hurt me."

Cody nudged his nose into Bailey's pajama shirt and then licked some of her skin. After a few seconds, he stopped licking her and then went began to paw at the sheets like a cat does when it kneads a little sleeping area. After Cody had kneaded a preferred sleeping spot, he circles twice and then lies down.

"What you doing? You can't sleep with me. Go somewhere else to sleep you silly wolf. Go now!"

Cody ignored Bailey's words and fell asleep. Bailey sighed.

"Great. I'm sharing my bed with a freaking werewolf."

Bailey brought the covers over her body and looked back at Cody.

"You know, you really should leave. What do you think that will happen to you if you hung around? If you value your life then leave now."

Cody lazily opened his eyes and looked at Bailey. She was so insistent that he left her room. Cody softly growled, begrudgingly got off her bed and then jumped through the window. Bailey made sure that Cody was completely out of sight before she went back to the window to close it and lock it up. Then she went back to her bed. She brushed off some of Cody's gray fur from her sheets before she settled into her bed and turned out the light. Bailey knew that the wolf would be hanging around town until she could help him or until he was caught and killed by the angry members of the community. Bailey was a little scared for the wolf's safety and she wondered what his name was and what he really looked like. Bailey also wondered what kind of person he really was. With so many questions buzzing in her head, Bailey could barely fall asleep but she forced herself to fall asleep so she could continue with her life just as she had always done. She began to count sheep and got fifty sheep before she was able to fall asleep and forget about the werewolf. All that Bailey knew within the next week was that she would only hear scattered reports of the wolf taking a life a man of a household. Bailey found it interesting that the wolf targeted the male members of family and that they usually were the husbands. The light brown haired beauty wondered why the wolf didn't target females. Was he trying to give her some sort sign? Or did he just find men to have more meat on their bodies? Bailey had no idea but she was grateful that the wolf hadn't gotten to her father nor did he get to many male members of the town. The wolf didn't eat humans very often so he must be trying to restrain himself from eating every night.

**A/N: Any reviews are appreciated. If you guys don't like something about the story then let me know. I want to improve as a writer so that process can be enjoyable for both you guys and myself. Any input is helpful. Thank you.**

To Be Continued…


	5. The Mysterious Boy

Monday October 27th had come and was half way over when Bailey was in her last class of the day at her school which was Chemistry. She sat at her desk listening to her teacher but allowed her mind to drift off to thinking about the wolf. She thought of the possibilities of what of person he would be. She considered a whole mess of possible personalities and physical traits for the boy who could be from his wolf form. Bailey would occasionally listen to her teacher, Mrs. Reynolds, but would go back to thinking of the boy who was stuck in a wolf's body. Bailey had finally come to at least three possible personalities and two combinations of physical traits. Near the end of her class, Bailey snapped out of her day dream and listened for the homework assignment. Once she took down notes for the homework assignment and class was dismissed, Bailey did her best to get her things from her locker and go back home with her three younger sisters as soon as possible. Bailey liked Mondays but she didn't want to hang around very long on the path back home or else she would bump into Moose again. He had recently become clingy towards her ever since the wolf came to their town and continued attack members of their community. Moose was mainly concerned about Bailey's safety but she'd rather be dead than to talk with Moose for another second. Bailey had walked down the hallway and found her sisters waiting for her outside the school. She came up to her sisters and they began to walk down the path that they usually took when they couldn't catch the bus back home. Diane, Lila and Suzy were talking about the wolf and what they were planning to do for Halloween in hopes that the wolf situation would be under wraps before Halloween took full swing as a holiday. Bailey listened on to her sisters' conversation when all of the sudden they ran into Moose. He smiled at the three youngest Pickett girls and then gave a toothy grin to Bailey. She just rolled her eyes as he approached her and her three sisters stepped back to see what Bailey and Moose would talk about.

"Hey, Bailey. How's my darling?"

"Moose, I'm not your girl anymore so you have no right to call me that."

"But you'll always be my girl."

"No, I'm not. Now, if you will excuse my sisters and I, we need to get back to our home."

"Bailey, why don't you let your sisters go for now? We haven't been able to talk much."

"Moose, I'm tired right now. We can't talk right now."

"Bailey, why don't you hear what I have to say?"

"Moose, why don't you leave me alone?"

"Why should I? I don't think that there's no harm in just talking."

Bailey rolled her eyes and her sisters saw it. They spoke among themselves and then Diane spoke up.

"Hey, Bailey. We're gonna shove off now. We'll let you iron out your problems together. Bye and see ya at home."

With that being said, Diane, Lila and Suzy leave Bailey alone with Moose. He grins at Bailey.

"Well, Bailey looks like your little sisters don't mind giving us some privacy. Why don't we take a walk and talk things out?"

"There's nothing to talk about, Moose."

"Ah shucks, Bailey! You can't deny that there's still something strong going on between the two of us."

"There's nothing going between us. We have been over for a while now."

"Now you may say that but I'm sure that sparks will fly between us again. I just know it."

Bailey didn't like where the conversation was going. But, elsewhere, a certain wolf had observed the interaction between the familiar teenaged girl and the teenaged boy that seemed to be bothering her. The gray wolf wanted to intervene the conversation but he also didn't want to be seen by anybody else. Cody decided that he could go out as his human self if only he could find the strength to turn back to his human form. As Cody prowled around in the shadows of the corn field that was located near the path, he watched the teenage boy talking to the teenaged girl. Cody waited just at the right moment to change back into his human form and act as if he just came into town and pass by a not-so-pleasant conversation and just claim to want to intervene. Moose kept on talking to Bailey while she kept on telling him to leave her alone.

"Moose, please, go away. I really do need to get back home and do my chores and homework."

"I think that you can afford to spend a few minutes talking with me."

"For the last time, Moose, there's nothing to talk about."

Moose stepped closer to Bailey and stared at her. "Oh, yeah?"

Bailey stepped back in defense and felt scared as she looked back at Moose. She didn't like which direction things were going. She wished that the wolf would pop out and scare him away but she knew that it wouldn't plausible for the wolf to do that. Bailey just wished that someone would come to her rescue and give Moose a good reason to leave her alone. Before Moose could get any closer and make Bailey shutter, a tall, skinny boy with dirty blonde side swept hair and blue-green eyes walked up behind Moose and gently tapped him on his right shoulder. Moose could feel someone tap at him and so he turned around to see who it was.

"What do you want, little feller?"

Cody wore black shoes, skin tight jeans and a v-neck shirt. His shock collar shrunk in size with his body and so did his tracking bracelet. His collar looked light some sort of accessory so Moose didn't notice it very much.

"Hello. I'm new in town and I just happened to walk by and seeing you two converse with each other. And even this may not be any of my business, but I happened to notice how uncomfortable this beautiful young lady seemed to be."

Moose looked back at Bailey and then at Cody again.

"You mean, Bailey?"

"Yes."

"You think that she looked uncomfortable with me?"

"Yeah."

"Why would you say such a thing? We used to be together and I intend to bring us back together."

"Maybe she doesn't want to be with you anymore. Have you considered that?"

"No because I know what's best for my little corn flower. Bailey and I belong together."

"How can be so sure of that? Bailey also has an opinion and you should ask her what her opinion is."

"Why would I need to do that?"

"So that you and Bailey can come to a final conclusion whether you two should be back together or not."

Moose waved his hands down at Cody as if shoeing away a swarm of flies all at once. He began to walk away and as he did this, he spoke to Bailey one last time.

"Bailey, we'll talk later."

Bailey ignored Moose and didn't even care that he walked away from her and her mysterious savior. She just stared at Cody and cracked a small smile. She happily approached him. Cody seemed to have noticed Bailey's beaming and elegant face for he had turned his head toward her direction.

"Wow, thanks."

"It's no problem."

"So, you're new in town?"

"Yep."

"Maybe you should leave now."

"Why is that?"

"We recently have been under attack by a wolf…well I think it's more like a werewolf."

Cody went on to pretend to seem interested and raised his left eyebrow as if he was interested in what Bailey had to say.

"What makes you think that there's a werewolf in town?"

"I've encountered the werewolf at least three times and I have ascertained that he has been put under a spell and that he eats human flesh. I mean, come on, what normal wolf eats human flesh to survive?"

Cody shrugs his shoulders. "None that I know of."

"That's exactly my point."

"So, if you have had three encounters with this werewolf, why haven't you been eaten by him?"

"I don't know. I think that he trusts me and believes that I can help him out. He seems to intuitively know that I'm intelligent for a human being. But he must be very intelligent himself if he's seeking help from a human."

Cody felt honored that Bailey complemented his intelligence.

"Well, I'm sure that the werewolf has something planned if he chose you to help him out."

"I guess you're right. The funny thing, though, that is that he is less bloodthirsty when he's around me and if he was a human boy then maybe I would have been tempted to get know him, maybe have a crush on him and want him to be my boyfriend. Gosh, I feel so silly. It kind of sounds like I'm falling in love with the werewolf even though it's a brutal killer."

Cody wanted to tell Bailey that he was able to turn into his human form and tell her that he was the werewolf and that he still would need her help to lift the curse. No matter how tempted Cody was to tell Bailey the truth, he bit his tongue. Bailey looked at him and a thought occurred to her.

"Hey. What's your name? I never did hear what it was."

"You don't need to know that. I'm just a passerby."

"No. I would love to know your name. Maybe we could become friends."

"I don't think so. I'm not going to stay around town for very long. I wouldn't want to disappoint you by becoming your friend before I would have to leave town. Once you would know my name then you would get attached to me and I don't think that it would be fair to you if you knew who I was."

"Well, how am I supposed to properly thank you if I don't know your name?"

"You don't have to do that. By the way, I sort of overheard you calling the boy that was bothering you by some name that started with the letter 'M'. What was it again?"

"His name is Moose."

"Okay. Got it. Well thanks for the nice chat, Bailey."

"How did you know my name?"

"I just heard Moose say it."

"Oh. Right. Sorry."

"It's okay. Anyway, I have to get going."

"But you just got here. Can't you stay a little longer so I can know your name?"

"I'm sorry, Bailey, but I have to keep moving on."

"Why?"

"I have a place to be, out to the west side of this county."

"Oh. Well, uh, good luck with your journey."

"Thank you. And good luck getting Moose off your back."

Bailey blushed hard and watched Cody walk away from her as he flashed a charming smile and graciously waved goodbye to her. As Cody walked off into the distance, Bailey's cheeks felt hot and her heart was pounding. Her stomach had butterflies in it and her palms got sweaty. Was it possible that she had fallen for a kind guy who just happened by? Bailey didn't know that it could happen but it happened to her. For Bailey, she believed at that moment, it was love at first sight with a mystery teenaged boy who came in at the right time to get Moose to leave her alone. She wished that he could stay around so they could get to know each other and so that she could know his name. Bailey wanted to know his name but she was more concerned on identifying him with sort of surrogate name. She thought to herself and thought of the name Sigmund. It was of Old German origin and it meant 'victorious hand or protector'. Bailey didn't know the boy's real name but she wanted to become attached to him and, to her, he was her protector. Bailey watched 'Sigmund' walk away in the distance until she could no longer see his lean figure anymore. Bailey frowned once her savior was out of sight but she then continued on her way home with a bounce in her step.

When Bailey got home, she had a smile on her face and did all of her homework and chores without a single complaint coming from her mouth. She would happily hum to herself as she did her chores and homework. She even busted the table after dinner and washed the dishes as well. Everyone knew that something wonderful had happened to Bailey earlier that day but they never had the chance to ask her what was the source of her happiness. But Eunice was able to sit Bailey on the couch before she headed off to bed.

"Bailey, what's gotten into you? You seem so chipper. Did you and Moose get back together?"

After that comment, everything went sour. Bailey scowled at her mom.

"Mama, with all due respect, why the heck would you want to talk about _him_?!"

Eunice was taken back. Bailey had used such force and restrained anger when she mentioned Moose. She felt guilty for her comment soon after Bailey showed a great amount of disgust toward the very mention of Moose's name.

"I'm sorry, Bailey. I didn't know that mentioning his name was taboo to do around you."

"Well, now you know. Don't mention that name again near me, please."

Eunice for certain that Bailey didn't want to talk about Moose.

"Okay, sweetie. I get it…So, what made you so happy in the first place?"

Bailey had to take a moment to let the question sink in and then she scanned her brain for the memory. Soon enough, Bailey remembered the cause of her happiness and then totally forgot her irritation toward her mother and cracked a smile. She looked back at her mom with joy seeping out of her body.

"Oh, mama, the most wonderful thing happened to me earlier today when I was on my way home."

"What is it, Bailey?"

"I meant this wonderful and kind boy who was new in town. Moose was bugging me to no end and, in a way; this mysterious boy came to my rescue. He got Moose to leave me alone."

"Oh, how sweet, Bailey. Do you know his name?"

"No…He said that he was passing by and he thought it wouldn't be fair for me to want to know him when he knew that had to be on his way very soon."

"So, you don't know his name?"

"No. But I chose a name for him and it's Sigmund."

"Why that name? Was it because he looked smart?"

"Well, yeah but that's not the point. I chose the name Sigmund because it means protector and he had protected me from Moose. He was a savior, my protector."

"Oh, I see now."

"But I don't know what to do with myself, mama. I know that 'Sigmund' had to be on his way, but I wanted him to stay so I could learn his real name. What should I do? Do I just forget about him and be happy that he just came along?"

Eunice shrugged her shoulders. "What else can you do? You'll just have to move on from Sigmund and pick a nice boy who won't be leaving town so quickly."

"But that's the problem. I don't want to find any other boy. I want to get to know 'Sigmund'."

"Well, Bailey, he's probably long gone by now. You're just going have to get over the boy and move on. It's how life is. I'm sorry, Bailey. Goodnight, darling."

Eunice got up and patted Bailey in one of her shoulders. Bailey watched her mom leave the living and then thought to herself. Bailey pouted, knowing that she probably wouldn't meet her savior again. Bailey frowned a little more and then got up from the couch and went to bed.

Elsewhere in the deep of the night, Cody was back in his wolf form walking around corn fields. He stayed around the town to seek help from Bailey but stayed hidden for his own safety. Cody could finally identify the lovely, intelligent farm girl as Bailey. He loved the sound of her name, Bailey. He loved her name, he loved how she looked, tasted and smelled. He just simply loved her. He also made a decision to stay around not just for his benefit but for Bailey's benefit as well. He wanted to keep an eye on her and keep her safe from the Moose guy. Cody walked along in the tall grain until he found a patch of tall grass. He circled his body around in the patch of grass and then laid down to rest for the night.

To Be Continued…


	6. Halloween

Four days later and it was Friday October 31. At last it was Halloween. The people had not seen or heard of the wolf so they figured that someone in the community had caught it and killed it off. The small town of Kettlecorn was able to be at peace again since they could enjoy their Halloween traditions without worrying about a killer wolf. What they didn't know that the wolf still lurked in the shadows and stayed out of sight during the day. He would live off water and scraps of food from trashcans. During the days that the wolf appeared to be absent, Bailey felt worried for the wolf. She didn't know if it was still alive or it was dead. All she knew that it was not around anymore in broad daylight.

Later at night when everyone was getting ready for a night of abundant of festivities, Bailey was in her room putting on her Halloween costume. She was going as Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz. She just loved the movie and the costume was an easy fix. Plus, she didn't feel like dressing up in something scary. She wanted a nice change of pace after the whole wolf incident. As Bailey was putting on her 'ruby slippers', which were regular high heels with red paint and red glitters sprinkles on them, Bailey could hear a knock at the door. She fixed her pigtails and grabbed her basket that went with her costume. She then walked over to the door and opened it. In front of her was her sister, Diane, who was dressed up like a witch with a fake mole on her nose and green costume make-up on her face and hands.

"Are you ready to go to take us trick-or-treating so we can get to the party in time later?"

"Yes."

Diane looked over her older sister's outfit.

"Why are you dressed up like that? Shouldn't you dress up in something scary?"

"Diane, don't judge me. I haven't been Dorothy before and I don't feel like dressing up in something scary this Halloween, okay?"

"Okay. Sorry I asked."

"Whatever. Let's just meet up with Lila and Suzy and we can be on our way."

"Okay."

Bailey walks out the door and closes it behind her. She walks down the stairs with Diane and they meet Lila and Suzy at the front door. Lila is dressed up like a scarecrow and Suzy is dressed up like a mummy. Eunice walks up to them with a Halloween themed apron tied around her waist and gives Bailey a flashlight.

"Bailey, take good care of your sisters and use the flashlight when it gets pretty dark. And call home with your cell phone when you need help."

"Yes, mama."

"Okay then. You girls be good and stay safe."

"We will, mama."

Afterwards, Bailey ushers her sisters out of the house and they go on for a little trick-or-treating before they head to the Halloween party that is held at a big barn near the school. The party is to start at seven thirty and the current time is six thirty. The four Pickett girls go to door-to-door for Halloween treats. Bailey doesn't collect any candy since she'll know that she doesn't need any candy. Once Diane, Lila and Suzy's bags are half full, Bailey decides that they should head over to the barn for the Halloween party. When they get to the doors, the three youngest Pickett girls place their trick-or-treat bags in little cubbies that will be watched over at the person who works at the door. Once their bags are safe in the cubbies, they go inside with their older sister, Bailey, inside the barn for the party. As the four of them go inside the barn, a pair of yellow and green eyes watched them from behind a bush in the distance. Cody walks out from the shadows and lurks close to a corn field. He saw Bailey go inside a big barn with who seemed to be her younger sisters. He thought that he would like to know Bailey better on a more personal level especially at a time when everyone is having fun and are occupied with his presumed death as the big, bad wolf. Cody looks up at the moon and scowls at it. He then turns his face away from it and uses his strength to turn into his human form. Once Cody has taken the time turn human again and making sure that he is still clothed in his back clothing, he casually yet discretely slips out of the corn field and saunters over to a nearby thrift store. He walks in the store and the owner looks at him.

"Hey, boy, are you going to the party at the barn tonight? It supposed to be the best one this town has had yet."

Cody looks over at the shop's owner.

"Yeah, I'm trying to find a last minute costume."

"Well, what are you looking for?"

Cody thought for a minute and then decided on a costume idea. He would go as the Phantom of the Opera. He knew exactly what he needed to be in costume. He had the most basic parts of his costume already. All he needed was a pair of black gloves, a white button up shirt, a black cape, a black vest and a white mask.

"Do you happen to have black gloves, a white button up shirt, a black cape, a black vest and a white mask?"

"Why sure I do, son. Come over here."

The shop owner kindly showed Cody to the items that he had in mind. Cody found what he needed and knew that the shirt and vest would fit him and brought the items over to register to purchase them. When the owner had showed Cody the masks that were left over, Cody picked the half-mask since it was the one that best copied the mask that the Phantom of the Opera wore. When the owner brought up the price of the items, Cody pulled out his money. He was able to have money ready because ever since his transformations, he was able to make proper adjustments to his new life style so that he would be ready for anything that may have come his way. Once the owner gave Cody his change, he bid him a goodnight and good luck. Cody thanked him and went on his way. He walked off far from the thrift store and put on his white long sleeved, button up shirt over his black shirt. He tucked the shirt in and then had put on his black cape. He slipped on the black gloves over his hands and completed his costume by straightening out his bangs and putting on his half-mask over the right side of his face. Cody then picked up his back shirt from the ground and casually walked over to the barn. He went inside the barn once other kids had scurried in the barn. He didn't know Bailey could have been at that moment so he used his nose to detect her scent and follow it to locate her through the mass of people dressed up in all sorts of costumes.

In another part of the crowded barn, Bailey was mingling with her sister, Diane, for their younger sisters went off with some friends. Bailey and Diane had walked together until it came apparent to Bailey that Diane would leave her soon since she was looking for her friends. Once Diane found he friends, Bailey listlessly had allowed her sister to leave her behind. Not a single soul had accompanied Bailey in her solo search of fun. She was a good person and had enough peers to call friends but for the night, she was alone. Everybody already had prior engagements to attend to and Bailey was left in her Dorothy costume holding a woven basket as her prop. As Bailey walked a lonely path through the crowded barn, she looked at the various activities that people were engaged in. The activities included apple bobbing, corn bobbing, dancing, scavenger hunting, and bean bag toss where the small beans bags had pumpkins on them. Bailey considered on partaking in one of the activities but she was stopped by a figure that soon became an obstacle for her. In front of Bailey was a tall Darth Vader. The person in question took off their mask and exposed themselves as a boy that Bailey did not want to see. It was Moose. He smiled at Bailey.

"Well, yee-ha, Bailey. Don't you look you pretty. I think you make a better Dorothy than the original."

"Go away, Moose."

"Ooh. You got some bite in you tonight, Bailey."

"Moose, I'm not in the mood to talk to you. By the way, I didn't know that you like sci-fi."

"Sigh what? Nah. This is just a costume that I borrowed from a friend's cousin. I just needed a costume fast."

"Oh. I see."

"Anyway, Bailey, are you that you don't want to dance with me? You seem awfully lonely tonight."

"Well, actually, Moose…."

Just then a gentle and warm hand graced Bailey's right shoulder and she and Moose turned their attention to the figure that joined their company. He was the boy from the previous four days. Bailey thought that her protector had left town. She thought that 'Sigmund' had been gone for good. The teenaged boy in question knew exactly who he was. Cody looked straight into Moose's eyes.

"Are you bothering her again? Don't you know the meaning of the word 'no'?"

"What?"

"I guess not."

"Where did you come from stranger?"

"I came from the next town over. I was here four days ago. I had left to complete a task but then changed my mind and came back here. How could you not remember me in such a short period of time?"

"I don't know what you're rambling about, but would you mind leaving? I was just about to ask Bailey for a dance."

Cody took his hand off Bailey's shoulder and walked in front of her so he could look Moose square in the eye.

"Fine. You may ask her to dance with you but if she declines your offer and asks you to leave her alone then you must respect that and tend to other business in this barn. I'm sure this plenty to do in here. If she does accept your offer then I will leave you two alone to enjoy your night together."

"You got yourself a deal, little feller."

Cody politely moved out of Bailey's way and stood quietly off to the side and waited for Bailey to give Moose an answer. Bailey briefly looked at Cody before she looked at Moose.

"So, Bailey, are you up for some dancing?"

"Moose, if I was in the mood for dancing, I would not want to have you as a dance partner for you have been bothering a little too much this past week and I need to have a break from you asking me to give another chance. I need space to breathe and be able to think things clearly. I am sorry, Moose, but I can simply not accept your offer. I hope that this does not dampen your plans for tonight. I do hope that you have fun like the rest of our peers that seem to be having."

Moose scowled. "Fine! I don't need you. I'll go look for Mary-Lou and dance with her."

Then Moose storms off and puts his mask back on in the process. Bailey then turns to Cody who she has not learned his real name but intends to do.

"I'm so glad that you came back. What changed your mind and how did you get here?"

"I got bored and felt that I had not had much contact with people my age to call a friend. I knew that you existed and decided to come back and hope to kindle a kind of companionship with you if that would be okay with you. As for how I got here, I walked."

"Oh, wow. You came back for me and you did it by walking? I feel so honored. I would love to spend the night with you."

"Great."

"Where do you come from?"

Cody wanted to tell Bailey all about him and his situation but he knew that it would be best to introduce tid bits of his life to her in a gradual build up.

"How about we talk about that for later?"

"Oh, sure. Of Course. I guess that's a little personal for our level of friendship."

"Don't worry. We have plenty of time to become well acquainted with each other. Would you care to dance?"

As Cody offered a dance to Bailey, he offered a glove clad hand for her to take if she accepted his offer.

"I would love to dance with you but before we do so, may I know what your real name is? It's just killing me because since your departure from town four days ago, I couldn't help but make a name for you."

"What name did you give me?"

"Sigmund."

"You mean as in Sigmund Freud?"

"No. I just meant Sigmund."

"Why 'Sigmund'?"

"It's because it means victorious hand or protector and when we last met, you, in your own special way, protected me from Moose. I consider you to be my protector."

"Oh. Well, thank you for that interpretation of what to give me but I think it would be best that you knew my real name."

"I'll make a deal you. If you tell me your full real name then I tell you my full name as well."

"Okay. I can deal with that."

"Okay. So, what's your name?"

Cody smiled at Bailey as much a boy could smile who wore a half-mask. He dropped his hand for moment.

"I'm Cody Martin."

"And I'm Bailey Marie Pickett."

Bailey then extended her hand out for Cody to shake as if playing along to their pretend 'first meeting'. Cody took her hand in his own and shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Bailey."

"It's nice to meet you too, Cody. "

Cody finishes off the act with taking Bailey's hand in his own and bringing the backside of her hand to his lips and kisses it before he releases it.

"It is my pleasure to have met you."

Bailey felt herself blush and she let her quirky yet adored and cute laugh that was her signature laugh. Cody was delighted to hear Bailey laugh. It was more of a giggle but still could be considered a laugh. He smiled at her. She calmed herself and stepped toward him.

"You know, Cody, I much rather prefer your real name over the fake name that I gave you. It suits you much better because you look like a Cody."

"Thanks, Bailey. I would hope so since my mom named me. And may I add, your name suits you very well because you definitely look like a Bailey."

Bailey giggled again but a little bit more softly than the previous time. Cody lifted his hand up again to offer it to Bailey and he asked her again:

"Would you like to dance?"

Bailey smiled brightly and she took Cody's hand. "It would be my pleasure."

Cody was pleased with himself as he guided Bailey to a secluded spot on the assigned dance area where they would bump into other dancers and he brought him and Bailey in atypical ballroom dance start position, where his left hand was held up with her right hand in his own and while his right hand was placed on the small of Bailey's back and that her left hand was delicately placed on his right shoulder. They moved to the basic steps of the waltz. As they danced together, their feet glided across the dance floor and Cody never tore eye contact with Bailey. She allowed her basket to hang from her elbow as she was lulled to a spell by his enchanting stare. Bailey felt as though she should have been with Cody for longer than they had known each other. The young man that brought her into a whimsical world made Bailey tremble with delight and made her feel as though they were meant to be. When they finished dancing, Bailey could feel a certain kind of gravitational pull that was to bring her close to Cody. An unknown force was beckoning her to close the gap between her and his lips but Bailey restrained herself from doing any sort of action for she had just got to become comfortable with Cody and she needed to know about him before she could just take him in her arms and kiss him senseless. Bailey's chest heaved underneath her blue and white plaid dress and her white blouse from underneath the dress. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she felt as though his simple charm silently seduced her. Bailey fluttered her eyelashes and then slowly withdrew from Cody's touch.

"That was fun."

"Yeah, it was. What would you like to do next?"

"I don't know."

"Well, I thought that I saw some maze outside the barn that was made out of hay. Could we do that?"

"Oh, sure. You're going to love the maze, Cody. I've done it plenty of times."

"Okay. Let's go outside to the maze."

"Alright."

Cody carefully took Bailey's hand and guided her out of the barn to the welcoming cooling air of the night. They rounded to the right side of the barn and approached the maze. They entered the maze together. While they walked through the hay maze, Cody looked down at his and Bailey's hands and had realized that they were still intertwined. Embarrassed by his guffaw, Cody had let go of Bailey's hand as it was appropriate for new friends to hold each other's hands. Bailey hadn't notice when they were holding hands but did notice when Cody removed his hand from her own. The maze's walls got a little higher than originally built at the start and the more shadows had casted down onto the ground making it darker than before. Cody and Bailey walked through the maze, turning left and right until they got to a dead end. They retraced their steps as best they could until they got lost. Cody and Bailey walked around in circles until they got tired and had to rest. They sat down on the hay covered ground and leaned against the hay stack wall. Cody looked over at Bailey.

"Bailey, have you gotten lost in this maze before?"

"Yeah. Once or twice when I was younger but I think that they changed the maze a little bit this year."

"I see."

Bailey looked up at the moon.

"Cody?"

"Yeah, Bailey?"

"I've been thinking about how when you first came to town. You came at a time when the wolf hadn't been heard of in a while."

"Oh?"

"I think that the wolf…or I mean the werewolf needed my help but I haven't seen or heard of him anymore. I'm afraid that he might have been killed. And the saddest part is that I won't be able to see him in his human form."

Cody felt the urge to comfort Bailey by letting her know that he was the werewolf and that he was just fine. He wanted to tell Bailey but he felt that it wasn't time just yet to expose his secret to her. He would wait a little longer. Cody placed a comforting hand on Bailey's shoulder.

"I think that if the werewolf was truly good at heart then he would have been spared by some higher power and be able to escape with his life."

Bailey turned toward Cody. "You really think so?"

"Yeah. I think that there's a possibility that the werewolf is still out there somewhere."

Bailey smiled at Cody. "You know what, Cody? I think that you're right. Thanks for comforting me."

"You're welcome."

"You know, you're the first person to not judge me for being concerned about the animal who is portrayed as a horrible human killer."

"Well, I was taught by my mom to not judge people of what they say first hand. She always told me to get to know someone before you could pass judgment towards them."

"You know, Cody, you're absolutely right. Maybe that's why it feels okay when your family and close friends judge you because they know all that they need to know about you to have validation to judge you. But you shouldn't listen to stranger who's judging you because they don't you at all. That really does put things in perspective, Cody."

"I'm glad that I could help."

Cody then took his hand off Bailey's shoulder. Bailey was secretly sad that Cody took his hand off her shoulder but then she thought it was for the best.

"So, Cody, what kind of family do you have?"

"Well, I was raised with my twin brother, Zack, by our mom. Our parents had divorce when Zack and I were young and we travelled the country until we could find a permanent place to call home. When we finally settled into one place, Zack and I were just about ready to start middle school."

"Oh. How old were you two when you started middle school?"

"Zack and I were eleven. We have early birthdays during the school year."

"When's your birthday?"

"It was September 22."

"Oh. My birthday's going to be May 6."

"What year were you born?"

"I was born in nineteen ninety three."

"So, you're about eight months younger than me."

"You mean, you were born in nineteen ninety two?"

"Yeah."

"So, you're eighteen already."

"Yeah. Why is that a problem because you're still seventeen?"

"No. I guess not. I mean, it would be a slight problem if a girl was sixteen and she had a boyfriend who just turned eighteen and they were….ready to take the next step then there would have been a problem."

"Oh, yeah. I see what you mean. It kind of sucks when couples are in that sort of situation. But we don't have to worry about that because you're close enough to my age and we're just friends, right?"

"Right."

Bailey could feel her heart pound in her chest. She has this unyielding desire to kiss Cody and let him have his way with her. Bailey didn't know what got into her. She wasn't even considering to do that sort of thing until she was either close to be engaged or was at least engaged before she would consider to have pre-marital sex and even so, she would have to find a guy that she could see spending the rest of her life with. Unfortunately, this was not the case for Bailey for she has this odd sensation of skipping all those steps just to lose her virginity to a guy that she just become friends with. Bailey didn't know why she would even consider such a thing with Cody since they we're even thinking of becoming a couple in the first place. Bailey thought to herself and blamed her mood on the night….and how kind Cody was and how handsome he looked in his Halloween costume. Bailey mentally slapped herself and then refocused her attention on Cody.

"Cody?"

"Yes, Bailey?"

"Do you think that we should get out of this maze?"

"Yeah. The night is still young and I want to do more with you than just dance and go through a maze. Does your town have a movie theatre?"

"Of course it does. I know that it doesn't see obvious since this is such a small town but we have one. I think they're showing some special films just for tonight."

"What kind of films?"

"Oh you know, ones that should be shown on Halloween like The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Halloween, Hocus Pocus and Halloween Town. People used to show more scary movies but everyone's still a little on edge since we had the werewolf come to town. The only scary movie that would be playing is Halloween with Mike Myers in it."

"I guess that's understandable. Do you want to go to the movies?"

"I wish that I could but I brought my sisters here to the barn. Plus I didn't bring any money with me."

"Tell you what, we can see if your sisters are taken care of and if not we can take them home when they're ready then you can get some money and tell you parents where we're going and we can go see a movie."

"You really would be willing to do all of that with me just so we could go see a movie in this small town?"

"Why not? We're friends and friends do a whole bunch of nice things for each other."

"But we just became friends. I wouldn't expect you to do so much for me. What you're offering to do is incredibly generous and sweet of you."

Cody casually shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just that kind of guy. So, what do you say?"

"I guess it couldn't hurt."

"Great. Let's get out of this maze and go see a movie."

Cody stood up and offered his hand to let Bailey take hold it to help her stand up. She grabs his hand and stands up. They walk through the maze and get out without any more complications. With a plan in mind, Cody and Bailey walked side-by-side back to the barn to find Bailey's younger sisters.

To Be Continued…


	7. Need And Want

Cody and Bailey headed back inside the barn and went to find Bailey's sisters. When they located them, Bailey quickly introduced her sister and Cody to each. Cody shook all of their hands. He shook hands first with Diane, then with Lila and then finally with Suzy. He also complemented them on their costumes and they returned the favor to him. Diane then shared a quick comment with Bailey as Cody was busy getting to know Lila and Suzy.

"You sure seemed to have found quite a handsome boy so quickly after you made it clear to Moose to get lost."

"Yeah. It was by sheer luck that I met Cody."

"By the way, does he happen to have a younger brother preferably around my age?"

Bailey stifled a laugh.

"I'm sorry, Diane. I'm afraid not. Cody has a twin brother."

"Dang it. Why is the earth on such short supply of good guys like Cody?"

"I don't know. Just be glad that we'll now have a gentleman to escort us back home."

"Yeah. I guess you're right, Bailey. I am getting a little tired of the party even though it's only been an hour."

"Well, maybe you will find something to do later when we get back home."

"The only thing I'm going do when we get back home is count my candy, sort it out and then eat it while watching a movie from the VCR. What do you plan to do?"

"Cody and I sort have a plan to go the theatre but we'll see how you three feel first and if it's okay with mama and papa."

"Oh. Okay."

Bailey looks over at Cody, Lila and Suzy and sees that they walking towards her and Diane.

"Looks like we're ready to leave."

Diane looks over at the others and can tell what Bailey meant. The four Pickett girls walk out of the barn with Cody. Upon their exit of the barn, the person who looked over the cubbies offered lollipops to the group. Diane, Lila and Suzy declined the offer as they just want to get their stuff from the cubbies. Cody and Bailey, however, did take a lollipop from the bowl. They both got a caramel apple lollipop. Once Diane, Lila and Suzy got their trick-or-treat bags, the five of them headed back down to the Pickett farm. On their way to the farm, Cody would occasionally ask for little bits of information from Diane, Lila and Suzy. They all appreciated him asking them questions and they certainly liked that a nice guy like Cody was walking back with them. They all envied Bailey just a little bit for having Cody as a friend but they didn't complain about it one bit. When they got to the front door, Bailey knocked on the door. Eunice walked up to it and opened it find her four daughters were safe and sound and a tall yet skinny boy was with them. They entered the house but Cody stayed behind as Eunice eyed him. She turned to Bailey.

"Bailey, who is this boy?"

Cody bashfully lifted a hand up as if to wave 'hello' to Eunice. Bailey looked back at her mom.

"Oh, this is Cody Martin. He's my new friend. He just came over to escort us back home."

Eunice was thrilled at what Bailey said about Cody. She turned toward him and smiled brightly at him.

"Well, Cody, why don't you come in? You can have dinner with us."

"Oh, no thank you. That's okay but I don't want to impose on your family time. Besides, Bailey and I were wondering if it was okay if we went to the theatre to see a movie. I completely understand if you don't want Bailey to go back outside at this time of night."

"Oh no, Cody. It's fine."

Bailey beamed at her mother.

"Really, mama? You would be okay with that?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"But what about Diane, Lila and Suzy?"

"They can just stay here at home. You and Cody go have fun at the movies. I'm sure your sister won't mind staying behind. You two need to have time to yourselves to become better friends."

Bailey looked over at her sisters.

"Is that okay with you guys?"

"Yeah, Bailey. We're tired anyway."

Eunice chipped in one last piece.

"Well, it's settled then. You and Cody and go ahead and see a movie. When you two get back, we can have pizza. It is Halloween after all and this night should be filled with fun."

"But what about cooking dinner?"

"Bailey, we usually have pizza on a Halloween. I only made dinner when you were younger and when you didn't stay out so late. The pizza will be waiting for you and Cody when you get back from the movie."  
"Okay. Thanks, mama."

"Sure thing, Bailey. Now you best get some money and a sweater before you and Cody go to the theatre."

"Yes, mama."

Bailey quickly ran up the stairs to her bedroom to get some money and sweater. As Bailey went to her room, Cody waited outside. Eunice looked over at him.

"What are you doing out there standing like a scarecrow? Come inside, Cody."

Cody awkwardly walked inside the house and Eunice closed the door behind.

"Thank you for the invitation, Mrs. Pickett."

"Oh, Cody, any friend of one of my daughters is a friend of the family. You're a guest here so make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you, Mrs. Pickett, but I'd rather stand. I think that Bailey shouldn't too long to come back down."

"Okay. So, Cody what are you supposed to be?"

"I'm the Phantom of the Opera."

"I don't know about the Phantom of the Opera but I'm sure that Bailey appreciates your costume. She's a very girl and is always thinking about her future."

"That's nice to know. She seems very intelligent from what I could tell after talking with her."

"Well, that's Bailey for you. She's a very smart girl with a nice personality."

"I'm not going to argue with that."

Just then Bailey came down the step with a white sweater hanging from her right hand.

"Bailey, where's your money?"

"Don't worry, Cody, it's tucked away in my basket."

"Oh. So, are you ready to go?"

"Yes."

Bailey then walks up to her mom and hugs her goodbye.

"See ya later, mama. Cody and I will be back as soon as possible after the movie."

"Okay. Do you still have your cell phone?"

"Yes, mama."

"Okay, well, you two kids have fun then."

"We will, mama."

"Goodbye, Mrs. Pickett."

Eunice waved goodbye to Cody and Bailey as they left the house through the front door. As Cody and Bailey were on their way to the theatre, Clyde had entered the house from the back door. He saw his wife wave at what would be kids from outside. He approached her from behind.

"Eunice what are you doing and have our daughters come back?"

Eunice lowered her arm down and turned toward her husband.

"Diane, Lila and Suzy just went inside the kitchen to count their candy. Bailey dropped by to get money and a sweater to go to a movie with a friend."

"Oh."

"Her new friend seems very nice. It seems to me that his mother brought him up well."

"He? Bailey's new friend is a boy?"

"What's wrong Clyde?"

"Eunice, why did you let Bailey go off with a boy? Don't you know that boys only want one thing? It's hard enough to keep young lads in control here on the farm but I couldn't imagine how things would be like somewhere else like a suburb or a city."

"Oh, hush now, Clyde. What I can tell, Cody is a gentleman. You have nothing to fear for Bailey's safety as long as she has Cody with her. He'll keep her safe."

"Are you sure, Eunice?"

"I'm sure, Clyde. Now, come over with me to the kitchen. We're going to order pizza and then put on a VHS movie to play for the girls and us."

"Fine…But if that Cody boy tries anything funny with Bailey, I'll tear him to shreds."

"Oh, you. Do you know where Grammy is?"

"Last I saw her, she was in her room."

"Clyde, why don't you call for a pizza while I check on Grammy?"

"Alright."

Eunice walked up the stairs while Clyde went in the kitchen to pick up the home phone and dial the number for the pizza place. He made an order for one large pepperoni pizza and one medium sized cheese pizza. As he made the order, he saw that his three youngest daughters were at the kitchen table counting their candy and making trade-offs. He was glad that they were safe at home but he was still worried about Bailey being with a boy that he didn't get to meet. Even though he was concerned for Bailey's safety and he had to trust his wife's words. When he was done making on the phone, he hung up and walked over to his daughters.

"Hey, girls."

"Hey, daddy."

"Did any one of you meet Bailey's new friend, Cody?"

Diane turned to her father first.

"Yeah, papa. Cody sure seems a real upright feller. He actually escorted all of us back home. He seemed really friendly asking all of some basic question about ourselves."

"Lila, Suzy, would you two agree?"

"Yeah, daddy. Bailey's lucky to have made a friend with Cody. He's a nice guy."

"Okay that's good. I was just wondering because your mother told me that Bailey had went off to the movies with Cody before I had the chance to meet him.

Diane then spoke up to assure her father's fear.

"Don't worry, daddy. Bailey's in good hands with Cody. He'll keep her safe and treat her right. From what I could get from being around him, he sure seems to be quiet the gentleman. I actually would prefer to hang out with him than with Moose."

Clyde was stunned. He did like Moose but after hearing from Diane that she'd rather be in Cody's company than in Moose's company gave him justification to put some trust into Cody even though he hadn't met him yet. Clyde gave Cody the benefit of the doubt and stopped worrying so much about Bailey's safety while she would be with Cody. Clyde then backed away from the kitchen table.

"Thanks for the heads up about Cody, girls."

"You're welcome, daddy."

Clyde smiled at his three youngest daughter and then went back in the living room and plopped himself on the couch. He then picked up the remote control and turned on the TV to a sports channel.

Elsewhere, Cody and Bailey had arrived at the movie theatre that had only seven auditoriums show movies. They walked up to ticket stand around nine at night. They looked up at the marque and saw the movies that were listed. All of the movies that were playing were all that Bailey had predicted from earlier. They chose the movie Hocus Pocus and went up to the ticket stand to pay for their tickets. Cody asked for two student ticket for the nine fifteen showing of Hocus Pocus. The boy behind the ticket stand gave him the total amount of fourteen dollars for two movie tickets. Bailey pulled out her money and gave Cody seven dollars. He took her money and he then pulled out his own seven dollars and gave the boy a collective fourteen dollars in exchange for two movie tickets. Cody took the tickets and gave one to Bailey. They entered the film house and walked through the lobby. They went to the left side where their movie would be playing which was in auditorium number four. They hand their tickets to the girl behind the stand and made little rips in their tickets before she gave them to Cody and Bailey and allowing the two to go ahead to their appointed auditorium. Cody and Bailey found their movie theatre and went inside. The theatre had five rows of seats total and they would set up a slope. Cody and Bailey looked around the nearly deserted theatre.

"You would think there would be a few more people around for a special showing of a Halloween movie on Halloween night."

"Well, this is a small town and most of the members of the town are back at the barn or staying inside their homes."

"Bailey, do you think that we'll be the only ones watching this movie?"

"No. I think that at least four or six more people will come later to join us but will the extent of the movie theatre's population."

"Oh. Well, at least we won't have to worry about people disrupting others that much."

"I know. There are some ups and downs for a movie theatre to be located in a small town but the business has survived well enough. Let's find a spot to sit at."

"How about at the top row in the middle?"

"Why not."

Cody and Bailey go up the twelve steps that lead to the fifth row and walk down to the middle. Once they are seated in the theatre chairs, they lean back and wait for the movie to start. Cody and Bailey both pull out their lollipops that they got from outside the barn. Bailey pulls her lollipop out from her basket and Cody pulls his out from his pants pocket. They pull of the green wrappers of the lollipops and pop them in their mouths. As Cody and Bailey silently enjoy their candy, a few more people walk in the auditorium. A couple comes in with the guy holding a tub of popcorn and the girl is holding a medium sized drink for them to share during the movie. They sit down in the in middle of the front row. After a few more minutes, a group of friends come in and sit off to the right side of the third row. The group of the three friends consisted of two girls and a guy. Soon after their arrival, the lights turn off and the movie begins to play. Cody and Bailey lick on their lollipops as the movie plays. As they finish their lollipops, Cody and Bailey temporarily discard the white sticks in Bailey's basket. They lean back in their chairs and watch the movie with ease.

At some time during the movie, Cody turns his head to his right and looks at Bailey. She has a relaxed expression on her face. He moves his eyes down her body. He first looks at her pigtails and then to her somewhat busty chest and then down her skirt portion of the dress and then finally down to her white sock and ruby slippers. He grinned to himself. Cody thought that Bailey looked like a very nice Dorothy Gale. He returned his attention back to the big screen and paid attention to the movie. Bailey leaned on her left toward Cody. Bailey knew that Cody had noticed her leaning toward him since he moved the armrest up so she could actually lean against his right shoulder. Bailey felt very comfortable with Cody and so she took his right hand in her left one and laced their fingers together. Cody noticed the feeling of Bailey bringing their hands together so he turned toward her and whispered.

"Bailey, what are you doing?"

Bailey just went on watching the movie like nothing was wrong. Cody knew that it probably be better to talk to Bailey after the movie. When there was twenty minutes left in the movie, the couple in the first row began to have a make-out session. Cody leaned over and looked below at the couple. Then his eyes darted to the three friends and they didn't seem to care about the couple was doing two rows below them. Cody leaned back as he figured there nothing concerned about and continued to enjoy the movie with Bailey. When the movie was getting close to the end, Bailey moved her hand out of Cody's and wrapped it around his arm. Cody didn't know if what Bailey was doing was a social thing in her hometown or if she was practically telling him that she was interested in him. Cody felt confused and scared which was highly ironic given the situation beforehand. He leaned back in silence and waited for the movie to be over. He just thought that maybe Bailey got comfortable with him and forgot where she was at the moment. Maybe Bailey wasn't thinking clearly and so Cody allowed her to hold onto him until the movie was over.

When the movie came to a close, the screen filled up with end credits and the lights turned back on. The first people to leave the auditorium were the three friends and then the couple left shortly after them. Cody and Bailey were all alone in the small auditorium. Cody thought that this would be the moment to ask Bailey why she had latched herself onto Cody. He turned his head toward her and she looked back at him.

"Bailey?"

"Yes, Cody?"

"Why are you holding onto my arm?"

Bailey looks at her hands wrapped around Cody's arm. She pulls away from him.

"Sorry, Cody. I guess that I hadn't realized that this is the first time that I didn't attend a movie with Moose. When we were together, which was a horrible mistake, was that he insisted that I held onto him. I guess I got used to it that I hadn't realized that I was with you instead of Moose. It's also a safety precaution around this part of town since kids on the farm are taught to act like ladies and gentlemen."

"Oh. I see. But what about when you held my hand?"

"I must have forgotten that we're just friends. I mean, you're so nice and caring that I went into a certain mode and was compelled to hold your hand."

"Oh. Okay. Are you ready to leave?"

"Yeah."

Cody and Bailey stand up from their chairs and walk down the steps to the ground. They leave the auditorium and the movie theatre all together. Once they are outside, they walk back to the Pickett farm. As they walk together, they talk about themselves and share stories when they were little kids to each other. Along the way, Cody and Bailey find out many things about each other. They learn of their aspirations, goals and dreams in life. They learn about their favorite colors, favorite kind of music and songs, their belief systems and philosophies about society, and what books they like to read. They also learn about each other's family life, their quirks and merits as people and how they love education and what their favorite subjects are and why. When they are five feet away from the house, Bailey stops walking and so does Cody.

"Why did you stop, Bailey?"

Bailey has a smile on her face as looks at Cody.

"I just wanted to absorb what has happened between us in the short time that we got to know each other. I just think that this has been a great night, Cody."

"I feel the same way. But I think that we should get back inside your house."

"Yeah, you're right."

Cody and Bailey walked on and went inside the house. When they got inside, Eunice greeted them with big hugs and told them that they could help themselves to a few slices of pizza and heat them up in the microwave. Cody and Bailey walked over to the empty box of cheese pizza and to the nearly empty box of pepperoni pizza. They grabbed a paper plate from the table and each picked up a slice of pepperoni to start off with. They went in the kitchen and heated up their pizza slices in the microwave. When the pizza was warm enough to consume, Cody and Bailey quietly sat down at the kitchen table as to not disturb the sleeping forms of Bailey's sisters on the couch. As Cody and Bailey eat their late dinner, Eunice wakes up the three youngest members of the family from their candy-induced nap and sends them off to bed. All three of them complied to their mother's wishes and they scampered up the stairs to go to bed. Eunice then comes in the kitchen and gets Cody and Bailey each a glass of cold water and sets the water down at their sides. Both of them thank her and she says that if they need anything else that they can come to her and ask for help. Cody and Bailey both thanked Eunice again and then she went up the stairs to her and Clyde's bedroom. As Cody and Bailey finished their first slice of pizza, they went ahead and got a second slice. They heated their second slices of pizza one at a time and as they waited for the food to heat up, Clyde came walking into the kitchen.

"Hello you two. Bailey, I'm glad that you're back home safely."

"Hi, daddy."

"Hello, Mr. Pickett. It's nice to meet you."

Clyde turned his head his head toward Cody.

"Ah. You must be Cody, Bailey's new friend."

"Yes, sir, I am."

"Well, you look like an upright, little feller. Thanks for keeping my daughter safe."

"It was my pleasure, Mr. Pickett."

"You sure have done well to keep Bailey safe. I can see why my other daughters and my wife say nice things about you because you're a good guy."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. And call me Clyde."

"Thanks, Clyde."

Clyde nodded his head toward Cody and then smiled at him and Bailey.

"Well, I'll be off. You two kids play nice down here. If you need any help just holler."

"We will."

"Okay then. You two have a good night."

"We will, daddy."

Clyde smiles at Cody and Bailey again and then goes up the stairs to his and Eunice's bedroom. Once Clyde is far beyond the top of the stairs, Cody takes a few swallows of his water and then puts the glass down on the table. He looks at Bailey who was in the midst of chewing a piece of her second slice of pizza.

"You know, Bailey, your family is really nice."

Bailey swallows the piece of pepperoni pizza down her throat. "Thanks Cody, but what about your family?"

"My mom is a good woman and a great singer. She is a wonderful mom even though she has to be the responsible parent while my father gets to be the fun parent."

"What's Zack like?"

"He and I couldn't be more opposite of each other."

"Oh, so you two don't get along?"

"We get along but we also fought from time to time."

"I guess that sort of thing is unavoidable when you have siblings. Although, I was lucky enough not to have so many fights with my sisters even there's nine of them."

"You're very lucky to have that in your life. I don't know what I would do if I had nine brothers."

"I'm pretty sure that at least half of them would have cocky attitudes."

"Forget about my hypothetical brothers, at least half or maybe just a quarter of the male population is cocky."

"Is that because they would eat a lot of chicken?"

"No. But I do know that they probably are compensating for what's down below the belt."

"I was going to say that beforehand but I felt like making a light hearted play on words."

"I appreciate your effort, Bailey, but you didn't have to do that."

"Sure thing, Cody. But your sex isn't the only one with members whose egos need to be cut down to size."

"That may be true about your sex, Bailey, but generally speaking, girls tend to have less to compare to each other and worry about size. Guys worry about how strong they are and how big their sexual reproductive organs are."

"But Cody, girls also size up to each other."

"Okay….I don't think that I want to go there. Let's finish eating our pizza."

Cody took a bit of his second slice of pepperoni pizza and chewed on it. Bailey knew that Cody purposely avoided the next topic that was going to come at hand. She said it anyway just to spite Cody.

"Girls compare the size of their breasts with each other just like guys compare the sizes of their penises with each other."

Cody swallowed on his piece of pizza hard and allowed the cheese, bread and pepperoni to tumble down his throat.

"Bailey, why did you have to say that?"

"You avoided the topic."

"You did that just to spite me, didn't you?"

Bailey grinned and then continued to eat her pizza. Cody frowned a bit and tapped his right index finger on the table. He looked down at her chest and wondered how big she was. He looked back up at Bailey's face. He grinned a wicked grin.

"So, Bailey, if you say is true then does that mean you compare your chest size to other girls'?"

Bailey didn't bother to focus on Cody's question very much because she knew what he was trying to do.

"No. Do you compare your size to other guys?"

"Oh. I see what you're doing. Just for the record I don't do that. I find no reason to."

"Okay then."

"Okay then. That's settled."

Cody went back to eating his pizza. For a while after their conversation, Cody and Bailey would drink their water and eat their slices of pizza until the paper plates were empty and when the glasses were empty as well. After their meal, Cody and Bailey threw away the paper plates in the trash can that was underneath the kitchen sink and washed out the glasses and put them away. Once they were done with clean-up, Bailey had put her basket and sweater down on the table in the living room and guided Cody outside to the backyard.

"Come here, Cody. I want to show you something."

Cody walked behind Bailey to a tire swing that hung from a tall tree branch.

"This is the tire swing that I would sometimes swing on during the summer when things were emotionally tough on me."

"It's a nice swing."

"Would you like to try it out?"

"Sure."

Cody went to the swing and got on it. He began to swing his legs until he got enough momentum to swing back and forth. As he swung to and fro, he spoke to Bailey.

"Bailey, you must have been a happy girl growing up here."

"Well, there's always going to be perks and downsides to wherever you end up living. By the way, Cody, may I ask now where you're from?"

Cody slowed down and stopped swinging back and forth. He jumped off the swing and looked at Bailey with a solemn look on his face.

"Let's not talk about that just yet. You need to know a few more things about me before I can tell you where I come from."

"Why, Cody? Did you not like your life in your hometown?"

"I did appreciate where I lived, but as time went on, things got complicated."

Cody then looked over at a barn.

"Hey, Bailey, why don't you show me that barn over there?"

Bailey looked over at the red, tattered barn.

"That old thing? Why would you want to see it?"

"I'd like to be shown around the entirety of your childhood home."

"Okay. But sooner or later you're going to tell me where you come from."

"Okay. I promise to tell you."

"Good then. Let's go over to the barn."

Cody and Bailey walked a few yards before they reached the barn. Bailey opened up the double doors and showed Cody the absolute darkness and silence of the structure.

"Well, this is it. It's kind of empty."

"What do you usually keep in the barn?"

"We used to have animals in here but the barn got a little old for their safety so we made a new barn on the other side of this field. We just keep a supply of extra hay in this barn and some tools."

"Interesting."

"I guess so."

Bailey looked back at the moon.

"You know, Cody. It really is a beautiful night tonight. Look at the moon."

"I'd rather not."

Bailey looked back at Cody. "Why not?"

"I just don't need to. I know what it looks like."

"But why, Cody? The moon is a beautiful thing to gaze upon."

"Bailey, why don't we sit down in the barn and I'll tell you about my relationship with the moon."

Bailey didn't know what to think of Cody's odd request but she complied to it nonetheless. She entered the barn and found a spot on the hay covered ground. She settled herself on a soft spot of hay and patted an empty spot next to her to gesture to Cody to sit down where her hand was. Cody sat down next to Bailey where she had motioned and nestled himself against the cushioned wall of hay and loose pieces of straw. He began to undo the first four buttons of his shirt but while he did this, Bailey freaked out.

"Cody, what are you doing? Are you trying to take off your shirt?"

Cody realized what Bailey had interpreted and then had let out a friendly, short laugh.

"Oh no, Bailey. It's not what you think. Besides, I have another shirt underneath this one. I'm trying to show you something."

Bailey felt embarrassed of insinuating that she was accusing Cody of some lecherous act. But she wouldn't be surprised because she had been feeling sparks here and there between the two of them herself. She blushed out shame and stammered 'I'm sorry' to Cody. He didn't seem to mind and forgave her. He then finished unbuttoning the first four buttons and pushed back the collar of his shirt to expose his shock collar that was around his neck. Bailey looked at the shock collar and took a moment to recognize it. Once she recognized the shock collar, he mind had put the pieces together and then she moved back and gasped.

"You're….you're the…"

"Yes, Bailey, that's right. I'm the werewolf. This is the part where I shall tell you that I come from Boston. I ran from there to here in order to escape the police in my wolf form. When I'm a wolf, I can't help but want to eat humans. But I am very grateful that I got to eat candy and pizza tonight instead of human flesh. Some of your neighbors' blood was a little too sticky for my wolf-like taste."

Bailey scooted away from Cody.

"How could you been a vicious werewolf but also be a nice human boy?"

"Bailey, I naturally am a nice guy. It's the personality that I obtained when growing up with my mom and brother. I'm only vicious when I'm in my wolf or werewolf form. I was put under a curse though. "

"How were you put under a curse?"

"My stupid brother probably angered someone in New Orleans when we were there for our sixteenth birthday while seeing our father perform at an arena. Our mom came with us and we explored the French Quarter. Whatever Zack must have done, whoever was aiming to exact their revenge on him, they must have accidentally incurred a curse on me instead."

"But if you really are a werewolf then how come you didn't change into your human form?"

"I did change into my human form for most of the time but as time went on, I couldn't stop myself from turning into a wolf and eventually leading to me eating people and being hunted down by police officers and almost being experimented on by scientists. I escaped with this stupid shock collar around my neck and the tracking device around my right wrist. The shock collar has added weight to my body and puts slight strain on my neck and so I don't have enough energy to change back into a human very often. Do you know how long I've waited to change back into a human?"

Bailey slowly shook her head 'no'.

"The collar wasn't the only factor that prevented me from changing back to my human form. I also would slowly succumb to the moon's will and stay a wolf. I haven't been in my human form for at least four months now. But I'm glad that I'm human now but I won't be for long if I cannot keep my strength up. Soon enough, I won't have any recollection of my past or memories as a human if I continue to stay as a wolf. My will as a human is weakening and I need your help to lift the curse. Please, Bailey, I need your help."

Bailey was speechless. She didn't know what to say and all that Cody told her was hard to absorb all at once. She took a moment or two to take everything in. Once her mind took everything in, Bailey looked over at Cody.

"What are you going to do to me?"

"Nothing. I just need someone to help me. I thought you already liked me before you got to know the real me, the kind me."

"I did, I mean, I do. But what will happen if you look at the moon?"

"I'll probably change into a werewolf."

"Why did you turn human?"

"So, I could speak with you and gain your trust. Plus, I have to admit something else and that's I had fallen smitten for you. I became attracted to you the first night that you found me wounded. I chose to trust you."

Bailey felt a wave a relief wash over her body which caused her to scoot back towards Cody.

"So, you like me?"

"I like you a lot. I know that it's very likely but I might have fallen in love with you at first sight. I know that it may not be very obvious since I growled at you in my wolf form but I tried to make my feelings clear when I came to the watering hole or when I appeared as my true self a few days ago. I came back to town for you, Bailey."

Bailey could feel her heart pound on the inside of her chest hard. She gulped and felt her stomach doing flip-flops and twisting around. Bailey then took Cody's right hand and held it for a moment in her left hand.

"Cody, I have a confession to make to you. I made up excuses when I held your hand and wrap my hands around your arm. Most of what I said back at the theatre is true about how kids around here are raised but I only used that as an excuse because I was afraid that you would judge me for feeling so attached to you after only knowing you for a short time. But the one thing that isn't completely true is when I told you that I got used to holding onto Moose's arm. He did insist that I hold onto him but I never really did get used to it since I didn't like how he acted as if I needed protection all the time."

Cody just gave Bailey a vacant stare. Bailey leaned in close to Cody and gazed into his eyes.

"Cody?"

"Yes, Bailey?"

"Do you wish that you could turn back the clock and never had been cursed to be a werewolf? Don't you miss just being a normal guy?"

"Of course I wish I could go back in time to prevent this from ever happening to me but there's an upside to all of this."

"What's that?"

"I got to meet you."

Bailey blushed hard. She dropped Cody's hand from her own and nervously tucked a stray strand of hair behind her left ear.

"I'm glad that you could find some positive aspect of this whole ordeal."

"I'm glad too."

"Cody, are you happy that we're friends?"

"No."

Bailey's eyes went wide with disbelief.

"What?"

Cody placed a gentle hand on Bailey's right shoulder.

"Bailey, I don't want to be friends with you."

Bailey's voice cracked just a little. "Why?"

"It's because I want to be more than friends."

Bailey blinked a few times to get rid of the forming tears to clear her eyes.

"What?"

Cody cleared his throat.

"I like you a lot and I was hoping that-"

Bailey didn't need any further explanation. She was so overwhelmed by emotions that she kissed him on the lips. Cody wrapped his arms around Bailey's body and leaned back into the pile of hay. Bailey snaked her arms around Cody's neck and ran her fingers through his hair. They continued to kiss each other senseless until Cody found the urge to be on top of Bailey and roll her on her back onto the hay. He fell victim to his wolf-like desires and rolled Bailey against the pile of hay and pinned her down and they continued to kiss each other. Bailey had raked her fingers across the lush, golden fields of soft hair and had her hands travel downward to the back of Cody's neck. Bailey withdrew from the kiss to breath. She looked straight into Cody's eyes and felt the need to get rid of his mask. She slowly drew her hands up to his mask and took it off.

"That's much better."

Cody played with Bailey's pigtails until he undid them. Bailey's hair fell precariously upon her breasts. Cody then smiled widely.

"That's much better, too."

Bailey looked down at herself and then back up at Cody. He leaned in a kissed her again. His hands traveled from her waists to her stomach. Bailey pulled back from the kiss.

"Cody, you seem nice and compassionate. How could you possibly be the werewolf?"

"I am. But I don't want to change to prove it to you. I especially don't want to transform now tonight. Whenever I turn into my wolf or werewolf form, I don't have much control over my actions and I don't remember people whom I have associated with in my human form."

"Maybe you could show me tomorrow."

"I'm afraid that I won't be here tomorrow."

"Why not?"

"I have to keep moving."

"But no one expects to see you around. They think that you're dead. You could stay here and I could help you until we find a way to turn you back to normal and then you could return to your life as it was before."

"I don't think so, Bailey."

"Cody, have faith in yourself and in me."

Cody got up off Bailey and began to pace around the dark barn. He paced about and turned his head. He accidentally caught a glimpse of the moon and was overtaken by his wolf-like tendencies. He started to growl and fur began to grow from his face and hands. Bailey got up and stepped toward Cody.

"Cody, what's wrong?"

"Stay back!"

Bailey stepped back and gasped.

"Cody, are you—"

Bailey was cut off by Cody's howl. He was in the middle of his transformation when he decided to hide away in the deep, dark shadows of the barn. Bailey looked around for Cody.

"Cody, where are you?"

Just then an angry wolf came out of the shadows and growled at Bailey. She looked at him and concluded that it must be Cody for she spotted the shock collar around his neck.

"Cody, it's me, Bailey. Please, don't attack me. Remember me."

Cody growled at her. He circled around her until she stumbled back into the pile of hay. Bailey scooted into the hay as Cody stepped closer to her. He pinned her against the hay and growled at her. He placed his two front paws upon her stomach and brandished his fangs at her. Bailey took hold of Cody's paws and looked at him.

"Cody, whatever you're thinking of doing, don't do it. Please, I beg of you, remember me. You just got to."

Cody growled at Bailey even louder and snapped his teeth at her. His fangs protruded from his mouth and his eyes swirled with anger. Bailey could see bloodlust in Cody's wolf-like face. Cody leaned in and opened his mouth. He barked at Bailey which made her flinch. Cody then dug his teeth in the right side of her neck. Bailey screamed in pain and she cried. Cody tasted Bailey's blood and felt a surge of regret. His human side fought back but his wolf side was persistent. Bailey was in so much pain that she could not hold onto Cody's front paws and had let me go. His paws landed just underneath her breasts and he could feel something special between him and the female human. Cody stopped digging his fangs into her neck but continued to taste her blood. He became less aggressive and licked her blood. He pressed his body against Bailey's and then pulled his mouth back away from her neck. Cody stared into Bailey's eyes once she realized that he stopped biting her neck. Cody slowly remembered Bailey once he looked into her eyes.

"Cody, do you remember me?"

Cody nuzzled his head underneath her chin. He was sorry for what he did. Bailey took hold of his head in her hands.

"Oh, Cody, you do remember me. That's why you stopped biting my neck."

Bailey petted the top of Cody's head and gently stroked his fur. He licked her neck to rid it of left over blood and then nuzzled the top of his body onto her lap.

"Cody, can you change back?"

Cody's wolf ears lifted up and then went down. He lowered his head on her lap.

"Oh. I see. You're too weak. When will you be able to change back?"

Cody whimpered. Bailey stroked the fur on top of his head and allowed him to rest his body across her lap. Cody then licked his fur on his front legs and began to groom himself. Bailey's eyes closed halfway as she stared at him. She then grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and brought his head right against her chest. Cody buried his face into her cloth clad bosom. He brought his front paws up and placed them on top of Bailey's breasts since he had no other choice to rest his front legs. Bailey then played with Cody's ears while she thought of something.

"What I am going to do with you?"

Cody stayed silent. Bailey bit her lip and then thought of what she could do to help Cody become strong enough to transform back into a human.

"Cody?"

Cody's ears perked up.

"Do you want to eat something?"

Cody lolled his tongue out his mouth.

"I guess that is a 'yes'."

Cody kept lolling his tongue out.

"Where are your clothes?"

Cody turned his head toward the shadows. He then got off of Bailey's body and walked into the shadows. After a short while, Cody came back with a mess of clothing in his mouth. Bailey got up, took the clothes out his mouth and began to walk back to the house. Cody followed Bailey with his tail swinging behind his wolf body. Once they got back inside the house, Bailey closed the door and tossed Cody's clothes on the living room couch. She told Cody to stay where he was and got a blanket. Bailey went to a linen closet and got Cody a gray blanket and threw it over his furry body. Then she went over to the kitchen and looked for some raw meat. She found a piece of steak that had been saved for a few days. She pulled it out and tossed it to Cody. He caught the raw meat in his mouth and tore it apart. Bailey watched as Cody in his wolf form allowed the juices drip from his mouth and see how he tore the raw meat with his fangs. She was careful not to be too close to him while he ate good wolf food that wasn't human flesh. Once Cody licked his chops, he tried his hardest to turn back into a human since he had enough strength and will power to transform again. At last, Cody transformed back into a human and was naked underneath the blanket that Bailey gave him. He stood up and began to retrieve his clothes. Bailey slowly approached him.

"So, Cody, now that I know that you're the werewolf, what should we do?"

Cody carefully dressed up in his clothes while using the blanket as a cover.

"We will nothing. We'll forget what happened in the barn and I'll move on from this town. You go move on with your life as well."

"But Cody-"

"Bailey, please! I am not going to stay here."

"Why not? Does it have to do with the collar and tracking device? Because I could help you."

"No, Bailey. You can't. Scientists are out to get me and so are police officers. They're probably tracking me right now. For both mine and your safety, I can't stay."

"Couldn't you stay for one night?"

"No. I have to leave. This was a mistake staying around."

"Cody, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I should have never fallen for you, but I couldn't help myself. Bailey, let me be."

"I can't, Cody. You and I…We…"

"We are nothing. We can't be anything. I'm sorry. I was afraid that I would hurt you. I don't feel right pursing anything with you."

"It's okay, Cody. I forgive you. We could push past this issue."

"No. I can't, Bailey. I should have not stayed here in the first place."

"Cody, can't we still be friends?"

"How are we going to do that? How are we supposed to pretend that nothing went on in the barn?"

"We could try. Come on, Cody. You have to try. I mean, aren't you tired of being on the run? I know that I would. Just stay for tonight."

Cody had finished getting dressed by throwing on his second shirt. He turned to Bailey and stared at her.

"Fine. But just for tonight."

"Perfect. Should I set up a cot for you?"

"No. I'll just sleep on the couch."

"Okay. Do you want me to get you another blanket and a pillow?"

"Sure."

Bailey wasted no time to get Cody a second blanket and a pillow. Once she came back, Cody had made himself comfortable on the couch with the gray blanket wrapped around him and his shoes were off his feet. Bailey handed Cody a blue pillow and a purple blanket.

"Here you go."

Cody took the blanket and pillow. "Thank you."

"So, uh, if you need anything then just come to me and tell me what you need."

"Okay."

"Okay. Uh, goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Bailey gave Cody a sad smile and then went up the stairs to her room. Once Bailey was gone, Cody made the couch and laid down on it. Ten minutes of tossing a turning and Cody can't fall asleep. He tries to sleep but he can't. He sits up and can feel the power of the moon on him. His fangs grow out and he has a desire to have some human flesh. He gets up from the couch and walks over to the stairs. He looks at the dark void in front of him and then walks up the steps. The stair steps creak under his body weight and his eyes get a little red. His mouth twitches and he can feel his hands getting a little furry and his nails turn into claws. Cody slinks down the hallway and uses his nose to find which room is Bailey's bedroom. He discovers that the room at the end of the hallway in Bailey's bedroom.

He tests out the door and finds that it is open. Cody pushes the door open and it moans. He steps toward her bed and sees her peacefully asleep, so graceful and yet so sensual. Cody reaches over and pulls the covers away from her body. Then he just stares her at her. His eyes feast on the glorious sight that is Bailey's face and her voluptuous breasts. Cody subconsciously pulls the covers away even more to reveal Bailey's legs. He looks down and discovers how lean her legs are and rediscovers her special spot in between them. Cody knows what he is doing isn't right, but he is under control of his wolf side. He wants Bailey in more way than one. He knows it in his soul. But he won't have her because he won't allow it. He stares at her body and takes in the sight. What a pleasure it is for Cody. Bailey turns in her sleep and shivers a bit. Cody reaches over and glides his claws over Bailey's inner thighs and then allows a small pleasure surge through him as he rests his middle right finger on her groin. He traces his finger over the cotton fabric that conceals her most precious reproductive organ. With his slight action, Cody elicits a small moan from Bailey's mouth. He pulls his hand away and throws the covers back over her body. He snaps out of his daze.

Then Cody just stands over Bailey and continues to stare at her. Images run through his brain and takes control of his body. He fights the command of the moon and pushes back the urge to eat humans and sexually take advantage of Bailey. He would never want to do that to her or to any other girl if he was simply his nerdy, sensitive self. But things were different since he was a werewolf. A wretched thing! He wasn't even an animal but a thing! He disgusted himself, but even he couldn't deny how aroused by seeing Bailey. She was indeed beautiful, cute, and-dare he think it-sexy. He was attracted to her body, to her blood and skin and to her intelligence and personality. Cody couldn't decide which aspects of Bailey he wanted to be attracted to the most since he had many conflicting views of her: as a potential mate, as a possible meal, as a 'special' friend , or as a significant other. Most of his views went toward him wanting to become emotionally and physically close to Bailey while a small part of him wanted to devour her, but he just figured that it was some strange erotic tendency. Cody brushed off his feelings or whatever they may be for Bailey. He shrugged his shoulders, left the room and closed the door. Then he went back stairs and gone to sleep on the couch.

To Be Continued…


	8. Mixed Signals

Bailey woke up at the sound of her chicken clock and got out of bed. She could swear that someone had inappropriately touched her the previous night while she slept, but she was not sure. Bailey feared that Cody must have momentarily lost control of his actions and caressed her body but she didn't want to accuse him of anything no matter how strong her instinct was that he touched her. She shook off the feeling and dismissed the fuzzy memory. The intelligent farmer's daughter collected some fresh clothes for the day and placed them on her bed. Then she sleepily shuffled out of her bedroom and into the bathroom to take a shower. Bailey pulled out a towel from the bathroom closet and placed it on a towel rack. She closed the door and turned on the shower head to let the water heat up. As the water warmed up, Bailey disrobed and placed her pajamas on the bathroom counter next to the sink. Once she was ready, Bailey stepped into the bathtub and pulled the curtains over to give herself privacy.

As Bailey took a shower, Cody rose from his carnal sleep. His acute ears caught the sound of running water which aroused him. Cody, with all his might, got up from the couch and stretched out his body. He had forgotten how rewarding it was to sleep once again in his human body. There were times when he tired of being curled up in a ball on the hard ground under a tree. Sleeping on a couch in his human form was quite an experience for Cody that he had to re-adapt to. Once Cody stretched out his body and cracked his shoulders, he took off his white, costume shirt and made a beeline for the bathroom. He was curious as cat to find if the bathroom would soon be vacant. Cody wanted to make sure that he washed himself before he would have to leave. He would always be reminded of his misfortune for remembering his blood filled nights as a wolf and always feel the tracker and collar on his body. They were his labels, his markings. The steps creaked under the weight of Cody's feet as he went up the stairs and the floor boards moaned as Cody walked down the hallway. He found the bathroom and heard someone move about on the other side of the white door. The wood of the door had a clean finish but the white paint desperately needed a new coat. The door swung open in front of Cody to reveal a wet Bailey clad in a blue towel. They made eye contact and Bailey's mouth was wide open. She screamed from fright and embarrassment. Cody stood still like a fool. Bailey whacked Cody hard and ridiculed him.

"Cody! What are you doing here!?"

"I was waiting for the bathroom."

"I know that. But did you have to stare at me?!"

Cody collected himself.

"What did I do?"

"You were staring at me."

"What? I am not supposed to do that?"

"Cody, don't you have any memory of your life before you became a werewolf?"

"If you're wondering if I know about Sex Education then yes, I do. I know what happens when kids hit puberty. But what I don't get is why you're so self-conscious of the situation. Yes, I admit, it was a little awkward and abrupt, but there's nothing to get upset over."

"Cody, I didn't want to point this out, but I know what you did to me last night and I'm not talking about the kiss."

"Don't worry about that, Bailey. I won't be here for much longer so I'll never have to intrude on your life much longer."

"That's all?"

"Yes. Now, may I please use the bathroom so I can be on my way?"

"Why don't you stay around to help on the farm?"

"Why?"

"For punishment."

"I suppose that your anger is justifiable, but you could pick something else to punish me? I do have my own agenda to tend to."

"Highly unlikely. Besides, you need to get on my good side if you ever hope to be cured of your curse and go back to being a human being."

"Fine. What will I be doing today?"

"I'll tell you when you're done using the bathroom."

"Okay. By the way, did you leave the door unlocked?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"When you live in a big family, you don't have much option for a lot of privacy. Besides, someone may need to use the toilet while someone else uses the bathtub. It's efficient and considerate."

"Oh."

"Now, I'm going to change. Do you want human food or should I just find you saw raw meat?"

"Human food would be nice. I may be a werewolf but I'm not a dog."

"Sorry."

"Whatever."

Bailey collected her pajamas and ran into her bedroom to get changed. Cody went in the bathroom and did what he had to do. Once he was done, he walked out and bumped into Bailey again. She just stared at him and then walked past him. He followed her down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Where are your parents?"

"I don't know. They're probably letting out the chickens and pulling out the tools before they come back in for breakfast. But within ten minutes my grandma and sisters will be awake."

Bailey looked through the refrigerator to find something for breakfast. As she did this, Cody stared at her.

"Do you hate me?"

Bailey stopped what she was doing and turned her head toward Cody.

"No. Why?"

"I was just wondering. Do you despise the fact that I'm a werewolf?"

Bailey closed the refrigerator door and stood up straight. "No."

Cody stepped closer to Bailey.

"Then, are you angry that I dismissed our kiss in the barn and caress your womanhood while you slept?"

"Did you take off my pajama pants?"

"No."

"I am mad at you, but I could understand that you must have been influence by your werewolf tendencies. You will have to learn to control yourself better, especially in your human form, but I don't hate you. As for the kiss being dismissed, I don't want to talk about it."

"If so, then, what are we to each other?"

"I don't know."

"May we pretend that all the awkward moments that had occurred and just be friends?"

"I'm willing to do that if you behave yourself."

"Don't treat me like a dog and I'll make you forget that I'm a werewolf."

"Okay. So, we have an understanding?"

"Yes."

"Okay. So Cody, do you want to wait to have breakfast with my family or before so you can start work right away?"

"What would you prefer?"

Bailey was stunned by Cody's response. She was not expecting him to say that.

"I don't know."

"Why not?"

"You caught me off guard."

"How?"

"I wasn't-"

Just then, Bailey's parents came inside the house. When they saw Cody, they were both happy and surprised to see him around because they had momentarily forgotten that he was a house guest.

"Oh, good morning, Bailey! Good morning, Cody."

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Pickett."

"Good morning, mama. Good morning, daddy."

"Bailey, we forget. Why is your friend here?"

"Mama, Cody had to stay here for over the night. But he'll help for today, stay for another night and then be on his way. Will that be okay?"

"Oh, sure."

Eunice and Clyde joined Cody and Bailey in the kitchen.

"So, what should we have for this morning?"

"Why don't you ask Cody, mama?"

"Oh, right. Cody, what do you want?"

"I'm up for anything. But I guess I could suggest something like bacon or sausage and eggs. Would that be okay?"

Eunice smiled. "Of course it is!"

"Mama, is there something Cody and I could do while breakfast is being made?"

"Why don't you two kids help wake up the others?"

"Sure."

Cody and Bailey go back up the stairs and wake up the remaining Pickett family members. They return to downstairs and find table to be cleaned. For the most of the morning, Cody and Bailey kept to themselves. When they all had breakfast, Cody sat across from Bailey fervently staring at her. He was far more interested in her than the food that was on his plate. He did appreciate the food and didn't leave a scrap but his eyes feasted on Bailey's curvaceous body. Bailey knew that Cody was feverishly staring at her but she ignored him. After breakfast, things got better. Cody paid more attention to the tasks that was given to him and Bailey became friendly toward him. As time went on, Bailey gradually forgot that Cody had inappropriately touched her and the fact that he had hurt her by dismissing their kiss the night before. Bailey never would admit it to anyone or to herself, but she never considered Cody's little stunt to be sexual harassment. She barely considered it as a violation to her body simply because it had not crossed her mind. Bailey realized just how attracted she was to the young and dashing werewolf because she was willing to dismiss his actions and forgive him with ease. She understood that he did need help and she wanted to help him badly, but she also had a soft spot for him as well.

Bailey kept to herself as she and Cody worked on the farm. They worked until lunchtime. When she and Cody went inside the house and joined her family for lunch, Eunice asked what Cody's plans were. He explained that he would be on his was soon and Eunice asked how soon he would leave. Cody meekly and subtly asked if wouldn't be so much a bother if he spent one extra night at their house before he left. With Cody's suggestion of staying one extra night, three silent opinions rose: Clyde was unsure, Eunice was glad and Bailey was surprised to say the least. Eunice offered to make Cody a cot but he politely declined and claimed to just be fine with the couch. Eunice wanted to give Cody a cot but she also didn't want to argue with him. After lunch, Bailey and Eunice cleaned and dried the dishes while Cody brought the dishes from the table to the kitchen. Three hours passed since lunch and Eunice and Clyde left with Grammy Pickett to go into town and get a refill on her medication. Cody and Bailey were left to stay in charge of the house until they got back. Bailey told Diane, Lila and Suzy what to do so that they stayed busy while their parents were gone. Then Bailey brought Cody back out into the front of the house and had him work the fields. Cody faithfully followed Bailey's direction and got to work. Bailey picked up a basket and began to collect eggs and then she went and picked apples.

As Bailey was climbing down a ladder after picking some apples, Cody was busy harvesting some corn. He had been working hard so much that he was drenched in his own sweat. He took off his sweaty shirt to expose his lean stomach and chest. Cody stopped what he was doing for the moment and tucked his black shirt in one of his back pockets before he resumed work. Bailey walked back to the house adjacent from Cody and saw him. She noticed how well-behaved Cody was once he was kept busy. She also couldn't help but notice that he was sweating and had taken off his shirt. She stared at him and realized that she was indeed distracted by the sight of a hot, sweaty, hardworking, and handsome Cody. Yet she knew that he was a werewolf, a bloodthirsty being with sexual tendencies. Bailey shook her head and walked past the white picket fence and used her free hand to push her to the other side since there was some mud lingering on the ground. However, a small incident had to occur at that very moment.

Bailey had accidentally cut her index finger on the fence. A small line of blood protruded from the tip of her finger. Cody could smell the blood ten feet away. Like a faithful companion, Cody stopped what he was doing and came to Bailey's side. He examined her finger and detected the precious blood drip down. Cody took Bailey's hand in his left one and gently and slowly sucked out some of the blood. After five seconds, he pulled and commanded his eyes to capture Bailey's and he had a good catch. The fish were in the net. Bailey became a willing victim of Cody's charm. Cody gave Bailey a smile like a dog trying to please their human master. Cody knew that he didn't want to talked to like a dog but that didn't mean that he wouldn't act like one in the smallest ways. His only explanation to himself was that human nature was a mysterious and bewildering thing.

"Is that better?"

Bailey nodded her head.

"Uh, huh."

"Will you be okay?"

"Yes. I'm just going to go inside and put a bandage on and then come back outside."

"Okay. I'll be out here harvesting the rest of the corn before it's too late."

"Okay."

Bailey turned away from Cody and walked to the house with her heart pounding in her chest. As soon as she was close to the dining room table, Bailey placed the basket full of apples next to the basket full of eggs that she had recently set down. Bailey went up to the bathroom and placed a bandage on her finger before she went back outside to find Cody. He was still in the corn field working in the autumn sun. Bailey called out to him and he turned his head to look at her. Bailey walked five feet closer to Cody and told him that he had had done enough for the day. Cody's ears twitched before he walked away from the corn field and had put away the tools that he was using. Before he entered the house, he threw on his shirt and made sure that there was no dirt on his shoes. Once he was finally in the house, Bailey told him that he could take a shower. Cody asked Bailey is she could wash his shirt while he took a shower and she said that would wash his shirt. Cody took off his shirt and gave it to Bailey.

"Thank you."

Then Cody went up the stairs and entered the bathroom. Bailey, on the other hand, was speechless. She just stood like a tree until her sister, Diane, came inside and poked her.

"Hey, Bailey. What's up?"

"Huh?"

"We're done with our chores. What should we do now?"

Bailey snapped out of her daze and thought of something for her sisters to do.

"Do you guys have homework to do?"

"Yeah…"

"Then why don't you get Lila and Suzy and the three of you can do your homework?"

"Where should we do our homework?"

"Wherever your backpacks are."

"So, you mean we do our homework in our bedrooms."

"No. What I mean is that you can do your homework anywhere where your school materials will be and you won't be distracted."

Diane rolled her eyes.

"Never mind. We'll just do our homework in our bedrooms."

"Okay."

Diane turns away from Bailey and gets Lila and Suzy. They go up the stairs and go in their rooms to do their homework. Bailey goes over to the laundry room and throws in Cody's shirt in the washer and in other shirts and some pants and does a load of laundry. While she waits for the washing cycle to be over, Bailey turns on the radio to listen to some music.

Two songs later, Cody comes down the stairs mostly dressed with a towel draped over his chest. He walks around until he finds Bailey in the laundry room sitting on a counter. He stands in the doorway and leans on one side of the doorway. Bailey looks over at him.

"Hi."

"How long will it take before my shirt will be dry?"

"Well, a wash cycle takes thirty eight minutes and a dry cycle takes fifty six minutes."

"So, it takes about an hour and thirty four minutes total?"

"Yep."

"I guess I'll just throw on my costume shirt for now."

"That would be a good idea."

Cody leaves the laundry room and goes back to the couch and finds the white, collared shirt that he used for his costume. He takes off the towel and puts on the shirt. He rolls up the long sleeves and buttons it up. Then he tucks in the shirt before he returns to where Bailey is.

"So, what we do?"

Bailey hops off of the counter.

"I suppose this would be a good time to something about your situation."

"Like what?"

"Testing."

"Do you have any equipment?"

"No but I do know a scientist that does. He can help us or at least let us use his equipment."

"What do you need from me?"

"Hair, maybe a urine sample and some blood. You know, basic stuff."

"Do you want both my human and wolf hair, you know, for comparison?"

"That wouldn't be a bad idea. But how will I know that you won't hurt me?"

"I won't do anything to hurt you."

"Okay. I guess it would be helpful to have both hair samples."

"What will should I do first?"

"Well, whatever you choose to do first, please be discrete and do the hair sample last."

"Fine. What will you do with the samples?"

"I'll preserve them before I send them to the scientist."

"Where are you sending the samples to?"

"Kansas City."

"Okay. May I have some baggies or small containers?"

"Oh, sure. I'll get them for you."

"Thank you." Bailey leaves the laundry room and gets a few baggies and small containers and gives them to Cody. Once he has what he needs, he returns to the bathroom. In the meantime, Bailey goes out to get the mail and comes back after five minutes and puts down the mail on the dining room table. She brings the basket full of eggs and puts the eggs in a carton and then refrigerates them. She then picks up the National Geographic magazine that she subscribed to and reads while the washing machine and radio are on.

While he was in the bathroom, Cody drips his blood into a small container and then urinates into a baggie over the toilet. Once he is done inserting some of his bodily fluid samples in a bag and in a small container, he thinks of whatever he may need to provide a sample of just in case. Then an idea hits him. If ever needed, he could provide a sample of his semen. Cody knew that he needed to become sexually aroused if he was to leave a sample of semen because he was desperate to give himself as much outcome for test results as possible. Cody thought for a moment and then an idea for a sexual fantasy came to him. What Bailey didn't know wouldn't hurt her even if he used her in a sexual fantasy. Thinking of Bailey was a sure fire way for Cody to become aroused. He did what he had to do and did it.

His fantasy entailed him and Bailey in a hot tub at night and alone. The hot tub was inside a vacation home in the mountains. It was just him and Bailey. Cody was relaxing in the hot tub with the jets on and Bailey joined him with her skin tight, blue bikini on. She slid in next to him and began to kiss him. She discretely slipped his swim trunk off and gave him a hand job while kissing him. He got into the mood and took off her bottoms and inserted his penis inside her vagina. Then Cody reached up behind Bailey's smooth back and undid her top. Cody continued on with his fantasy until he got hard and squirted. He made sure that he didn't miss the bag that he held out. Once Cody was satisfied with the amount of semen sample in the bag, he had cut off his fantasy and calmed himself down. When he was all good and ready to go, Cody left the bathroom with his samples ready to be given to Bailey and be preserved. Cody walked down the stairs and went back to the laundry room where he found Bailey reading National Geographic as she quietly sat on the counter. Apparently, the washing machine had. Cody could only assume during the time that he was in the bathroom, Bailey must have put the clothes in the dryer. He carefully approached her as she was engrossed in her reading.

"Bailey?"

Bailey flickers her eyes up and sees Cody beyond the edge of the magazine.

"Oh. Hi, Cody."

"I have the sample ready."

"Oh. Great."

Bailey puts down her latest National Geographic issue down and jumps off the counter. She takes the baggies and containers from Cody and puts them away to their appropriate places. The unused baggies and small containers go back where they belong while the used baggies and small container are marked with a sharpie marker and placed in a back corner of the refrigerator. She then goes back to reading her magazine. Cody stares at Bailey.

"So, how long will it be?"

Bailey looks up at Cody. "Until what?"

"Until the clothes are dry."

"Well, I had put them in for fifteen minutes for now."

"So, they won't be ready for another forty one minutes."

"Yep."

"When should your parents and grandmother be back?"

"Well, it usually takes them twenty minutes to drive into town and five minutes to find parking. And then it takes a minute to help Grammy out of the truck and ten minutes to get to the pharmacy counter and five minutes to leave so….I'd say that it takes them about sixty two minutes."

"How long has it been?"

"About fifty eight minutes."

"So, we have four minutes until they get back."

"Well, actually six minutes until they come into the house. I've basically know how long it takes my parents to get Grammy a refill of medicine and come back home."

"So, six minutes."

"Yep."

Bailey turns the page and reads on. Cody stares at Bailey. He steps closer to her and traps her in between his arms on the counter. Bailey doesn't seem to notice that Cody has trapped her.

"Bailey."

"Yes?"

"I have a problem."

"What's that?"

"I'm bored."

"Then do something."

"I would, but I need your permission."

Bailey looked at Cody and realized that he had her trapped on the counter in between his arms. She didn't have a good feeling what was going to happen next.

"Cody, what are you doing?"

"Bailey, I'm werewolf and I have tendencies: murder and…"

"Don't say the next word."

"Sex."

"Why did you say that?"

"Just to spite you."

"I think that you should think of something else to occupy your time for the next six minutes."

"Oh, don't worry, Bailey. I'm not going to do much."

"Then what do you want from me?'

"Just stay still."

"Why?"

Cody gave Bailey a wicked grin. He slid his hands over her thighs and undid her zipper and button. Bailey tried to say something but she was afraid that if she spoke up then she would anger him. Cody diligently slipped Bailey's pants away from her groin area and slid her underwear off. He fingered her clitoris until she moaned. Once Cody knew that he was capable of turning Bailey on, he pulled her underwear and pants back up and stepped back. Bailey stared at Cody with bewilderment.

"Cody, what was that for?"

"I told you, I wouldn't do much and thus I have stayed true to my word."

"That's it? I thought that since you were a werewolf that you would show no mercy."

"That would be true if I was a natural-born werewolf."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I still have a human heart."

"What?"

Cody simply smiles at Bailey and then leaves her. Bailey shakes her head and buttons and zips up her pants. She then jumps off the counter and stays in the laundry room not knowing what to do with herself. The whole incident made Bailey question Cody's true intentions. Was he just using her for sexual pleasure and to find a cure for his condition or was he suppressing his feelings for her and acting as he didn't care at all? Bailey didn't know what to make of Cody's actions toward her. She surely had plenty to think about.

All the while that Bailey was thinking about how actually felt about her, Bailey's parents and grandmother came back from the pharmacy. Eunice greeted Cody and asked where Bailey was. Cody simply replied that she was in the laundry room. Clyde helped Grammy Pickett up the stairs and made sure she took her medicine. Bailey heard the commotion and picked up her magazine before she left the laundry room. At once when Eunice saw Bailey, she smiled at her intelligent daughter and asked her to help make dinner. Bailey obliged to her mother's request and had set down her issue of National Geographic in the designated magazine bin before coming into the kitchen. Cody walked around and watched Bailey help her mom in the kitchen. Bailey could feel Cody's stare on her but acted like it was nothing. She kept on doing what she was doing. Cody chose the moment to go to the laundry room to check on the clothes.

By the time the clothes were dry, it was five minutes before dinner when the dryer was done. Cody pulled out the clothes and neatly folded them. Folding clothes was like second nature to him. He just did it. Once the clothes were folded, Cody placed them in the white laundry basket and placed it over the dryer. He pulled out his black shirt and switched it with his white one. He left the laundry room once he had his shirt back on.

Cody walked into the dining room and saw Bailey's younger sisters setting up the table. Cody was about to ask them if they needed a hand but then he was dragged away by a perturbed Bailey. She dragged him all the way to the living room couch and glared at him. She obviously had enough to think about while she helped her mom make dinner.

"Cody, are you using me?"

"What?"

"Are you using me?"

"For what?"

Bailey took a fistful of Cody's clean and warm, black shirt.

"Are you using me for sexual pleasure and my intelligence and patience to help you?"

"Bailey, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Just tell me."

Cody was about to say something but then Eunice called for dinner. Cody sincerely looked at Bailey.

"We'll talk later."

Bailey unclutched Cody's shirt and walked away from him. She sat down at the dining room table. Cody followed suit and tossed his extra shirt on the couch. He sat down at the table and stayed silent most the time of dinner. The only time he talked was when he asked someone to pass him something and when Eunice asked him a question.

To Be Continued…


	9. Hungry Like The Wolf

**Author's Note: I'm sorry that I took a little longer to update. I temporarily had writer's block and I was on vacation with my family. This was a hard chapter to write.**

After dinner, things between Cody and Bailey got a little tense. Bailey was madder than a chicken with a clogged cloaca and Cody was as confused and scared like a lost child. As soon as the coast was clear, Bailey sat Cody down on the couch. She had a firm grip on his left arm. Cody looked at Bailey with deep concern.

"So, Bailey, you wanted to continue our chat."

"Yes, I would."

"Could you please let go of me first?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Cody, you are treading on thin ice right now. Do you really think I'm going to let you go? I want to know what your true intentions are."

"So, you think I'm using you?"

"I can't tell unless you tell me. For the last time, Cody: are you using me?"

"What makes you think that?"

"How could you not tell? You dismiss our kiss, you touched one of my private parts twice and you seem so distant in any emotional connection with me."

"I'm not using you, Bailey."

"How can I trust you? How can I know that you're telling the truth?"

"I know that this is difficult to understand but you have to believe me."

"Why should I?"

"Bailey, I trust you so you should trust me. I mean, if I hadn't trusted you then I would have never come back to town to seek out help from you. I didn't want to be friends with you because I thought that it wouldn't be worth it but then I realized that I could benefit if I had you as a friend. But that didn't turn out so well for me because I was smitten for you. I told you this last night and that was the truth. I dismissed the kiss because I was afraid that we would have to depart and it simply wouldn't be fair for either one of us and that is why I seemed so emotionally distant with you. I was trying to play down what could have been between you and I."

Bailey lost her grip on Cody's arm but still had a serious expression on her face.

"What about the sexual stints?"

"I'm not using you. I'm cursed to be a werewolf and I only have two options when it comes to my carnivorous side. I either eat people or I have sexual relations with a partner. I'm a bloody animal, a beast! I wish that there was a third option but there isn't! Bailey, I am losing time. Soon enough, I'll turn into a wolf, I won't remember who you are and eat you alive. You just got to remember that sex and murder are one in the same thing. And I'll let you know right now, Bailey, I'm more than smitten with you, I'm attracted to you. When I was in my wolf form that night you found me licking my wound, I was enchanted by you. For bloody Pete's sake, I had already labeled you as my potential mate while I was in my wolf body. That's why I scared off Moose because, as part of my wolf instinct, I had the urge to fight for you with him. I felt that he encroaching on my territory. I know that may sound strange, but it's the whole truth. But the only problem is that I feel the need not to let you become attached to me in any way because I don't want to get too involved in my situation and get in trouble which could possibly lead to you getting hurt. I don't want that to happen to you. I know that things must be confusing with my clashing ideals as a wolf and as a human guy since I am a werewolf, but both sides of me like you a lot."

Bailey took a moment to let everything sink in. She kept replaying all the words that Cody told her over and over again until she realized that she had one last thing on her mind.

"Why did you keep staring at me though?"

Cody blushed and shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess there came some times when my human and wolf-like desires met in the middle and I became erotically charged by your presence and sheer beauty. I also have nothing better else to do. I mean, come on. I've been on the run for quite a while now and I don't think that I would be able to carry a book with me or have time to listen to some music."

"So, you get horny when your human self has the same desires as your wolf-self?'

"I wouldn't say 'horny'. It's not like I'm warm down below in between my legs. I do get a little warm in my chest but I'm mostly having sexual fantasies. Nothing major."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I may be a werewolf but I'm also technically a regular guy. I also have weaknesses. If I wasn't a werewolf and I was into you, I wouldn't inappropriately touch you. I would give you all the personal space you would need regardless if you were just a friend or if you were my girlfriend which you're not. If I was my regular human self, I'd probably devise a six month plan just to win your heart and if I did win your affections then I take things slow. But none of that matters because I have very little to no control over my body since I'm a freaking werewolf. But, of course, you would be confused and angry with me since I've been giving you a lot of mixed signals. I must seem like a real ass to you right now, Bailey. I'm so sorry."

"No."

"What?"

"I'm sorry, Cody."

"Wait. What for?"

"I should have never accused you of using me. I'm sorry."

"Bailey, what are you talking about?"

Bailey got all teary eyed and cried into Cody's shirt. She mumbled something incoherent as she clutched onto his chest for dear life. Cody patted her back until she pulled away to breathe air. Cody looked at Bailey with a pained expression on his face.

"Bailey, don't be sorry. You have done so much for me that you don't even know. I'm very grateful that you have been able to withstand my odd behavior for this long and I am glad that you will be sending my DNA samples to a scientist that you know in Kansas City."

"Cody, shut up! You shouldn't be praising me. I've been horrible to you. I accused you of using me. I couldn't see a worst insult than that."

"Bailey, it's not your fault. You don't know what I was thinking."

"Cody, I still feel bad. I wish I could do something to make it up to you."

"You don't have to do anything, Bailey. But do you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you. But I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I'm sorry too. I really am."

"Cody, please shut up."

"Wait. Why-?"

Bailey cuts Cody off by pressing her lips against his own. Cody and Bailey fell down flat on the couch. Cody automatically wrapped his arms around Bailey's body and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Bailey enthusiastically tilted her head to the side so that she could deepen the kiss. Cody could the passion building up between him and Bailey and he felt a little overwhelmed. He was afraid that he get too into the mood and take over. Before bad anything happened, Cody pulled away from the kiss. Bailey looked at Cody with a hurt and confused expression on her face.

"Why did you pull away?"

"Bailey, I was afraid that I would do something stupid and regrettable if I allowed things go further."

"So, what are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to give you the personal space that you deserve. I'm trying to make things up for you for what I had done."

Bailey smiled a superbly genuine and beautiful smile. She stroked Cody's left cheek and part of his bangs that curved down toward his left ear. Cody raised his eyebrows toward Bailey.

"Bailey, what are you doing? Don't get too attached to me. I'll be gone soon. Can't you go back to being mad at me?"

"No."

Bailey leans in and leaves a soft and light kiss on Cody's left cheek.

"Okay fine. I did use you. There! Now can you go back to being mad at me?"

"I know what you're trying to do, Cody, and it's not going to work. You're not going get out of this."

"Why do you have to be so damn smart?"

"I read and study and have a knack for comprehending many concepts both simple and complicated."

"But why?"

Bailey gave Cody a quick kiss on the lips and then stared into Cody's eyes. She hadn't realized how beautiful Cody's eyes were until she could actually see them up close. She could actually sense the gateway to his soul through his irises and could tell how lost he felt. Bailey sealed her lips together and got off Cody's body and stood up from the couch. Cody sat up in as he stared at Bailey in wonder.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you starting to have any craving anything?"

"Maybe I'm getting a little….hungry for flesh but nothing major."

"I suppose I could find you some raw meat in the refrigerator."

"I think I can hold out."

"No, you can't, Cody. You're a werewolf. You don't have a lot of options when it comes to survival and mental stability."

"Fine. I guess I'll some raw meat to keep myself under control."

Bailey went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to try to find some raw meat. She couldn't find any raw meat except for Cody's DNA samples lodged in the back of the refrigerator. Bailey closed the refrigerator and sighed. She walked back to Cody.

"There's no raw meat, Cody."

"I guess I'll just fight my wolf side just tonight."  
"You won't be able to resist turning into a wolf and eat people."

"No. I'll be fine. I can keep control of my transformation and bloodlust."

Bailey sat down next to Cody on the couch.

"Cody, what's going to happen when you turn into a wolf?"

"I might lose a little will power as human when I ever get to transform back. Each time I'll turn into a wolf, little by little, I'll lose some of my will power. If I don't eat raw meat soon then I'll eventually succumb to my wolf-like tendencies and eat people. I'll just force myself not to transform."

"Or I could be your human sacrifice."

"Bailey, I'm not going to kill you."

"I meant that I could let you have your way with me just until there's more raw meat back in the refrigerator."

"No, Bailey. I wouldn't feel right doing that to you. How could be so okay with this? One moment you were angry with me for allegedly using you and now you totally fine with the concept of me having my way with you. I won't do it, I can't. I like where we are."

"But Cody, what will happen to you if you won't eat raw meat or have sexual stints or eat people?"

"I'll either kill everyone or die."

"I don't want you to die. I want to help you."

"Bailey, let me die. It'll be good for a lot of people including you. You won't have to give yourself up, innocent lives will be saved and I'll be ridden of my curse."

"But you'll also be dead."  
"I don't care. I mean, it's not like many people will miss me, well, maybe except for my parents, my two closest friends and maybe my twin brother."

"And me."

"What?"

"I'll miss you, too."

"How would that be possible, Bailey? You and I haven't known each other for very long."

"It doesn't matter. It only takes a few sessions of speaking to each other to care enough to not want the other one die."

"No, I'm not. I'm just…a horny bastard."

"No, you're not. Don't say that because it isn't true!"  
"Bailey, it'll be fine. I won't eat anything and I'll die and once I'm dead, the world will be a safer place once again. It'll be a better place without me in it. Regardless if I was a bloodthirsty werewolf or a scrawny nerd, I would do the world a great service if I just ended my life now."

"Don't say that, Cody. I want to help you so you can go back to your normal life and be happy."

"I highly doubt it."

"Cody, I want to see you be cured of this curse. Maybe someday when you're just a normal guy with no claws or fangs, we might run into each other someday and I might want to get to know the sensitive, intelligent guy who has a fragile body but with a really big heart…"

"Bailey, I won't let you do this to yourself."

"It's not like you're using me. I'm giving you permission."

"No! What will your family think? Are you really willing to sacrifice yourself?"

"Yes."

Even if it was for helping me?"

"Yes."  
"What if it meant saving the lives of your neighbors and many other fellow Americans?"

"Yes."

"But why?"

"Because I won't mind. I won't care if you have to release some sexual tension onto me. I want help you stay under control in any way possible. I'm willing to do anything to help you not eat many people."  
"But Bailey, this is a really big decision to make."

"We can use protection. They keep fresh condemns in stock."

"Why?"

"Well, you've had ten daughters and don't have much to do but work and read a little bit there aren't many other options to keep themselves entertained."

"But aren't there things to do in town?"

"Not really. We're a pretty isolated community."

"But you don't seem bored."

"That's because I usually have my passion for knowledge to keep me busy."

"Oh…I see."

"So, Cody, will we go through with it?"

"Bailey, this is a huge decision. Why don't you think things through for about ten minutes and I'll wait here. After ten minutes, I'll come up to your bedroom and look for a sign to know if you really are willing to give yourself to me or not."

"What would the sign be?"

"If your bedroom door is completely closed then I'll know that you don't want to through with it. But if I see a crack in the door showing a tiny portion of the inside of your bedroom then I'll know that you have made up your mind."

"Okay. Anything else?"

"If we actually do go through with it, which I highly doubt will happen, where will I find some protection?"

"Under the sink on the right side toward the front. The brand is Durex."

"Oh…Okay."

"Okay, so I'll be up in my room thinking things through."

"Okay." Bailey left Cody to himself.

He sat on the couch doing some thinking of his own. He was a little shocked to learn that Bailey thought that he could have been using her. But given the situation and how he has been acting, Cody was not totally shocked by Bailey's reaction. He had to admit to himself that regardless of his wolf-like nature, he was seduced by Bailey's pure beauty. He didn't let her know the extent of his feelings for her for two simple factors: he was too shy to tell her and he felt that it was too soon to be so attached to a person in such a short time. Cody also thought of where he should go and stay away for a few days before he would return to Bailey to hear about his results to see how he, with Bailey's help, can find a solution to his problem. He pondered if his curse was just strictly a spell or was there some sort of thing blending with his DNA code. Cody had to figure out the true nature of his curse so he look at it from a different angle.

Ten minutes flew by Cody before he realized that he had to go up to Bailey's bedroom and find out if she is willing to sacrifice herself for his own well-being. Cody got up from the couch and went up the stairs all the way to Bailey's room. With each step that Cody took, he could feel his heart pound against his chest and the moon forcing its power on his weary human body. The lunar rays took a toll of Cody's body and was urging him to turn into a demon wolf but he resisted. Once he arrived at Bailey's bedroom door, Cody looked for a crack and he found one. He turned toward the bathroom and snatched two condemns. Then he took a big gulp and slowly pushed the door open to reveal an expecting Bailey waiting for him on her bed. She still was in her clothes and sat with both arms at her sides and one leg crossed over the other. But she had taken off her shoes and socks. Bailey stared at him like there was no tomorrow. Cody gently closed the door and approached her. He looked deep into her deep brown eyes.

"May I sit next to you?"

"Yes."

Cody sits down and continues to look at Bailey.

"Bailey, before anything happens, I want you to know how I'll always appreciate what you did for me and I will be forever grateful for what you are willing to do for me."

"Sure thing, Cody."

"It's just that I wish there was another way for me to keep certain tendencies at bay while I'm in my weak human form. I'll be honest with you, Bailey, I can literally feel the moon's power putting a toll of my body. I'm losing energy. I might be able to stay in my human form if I don't something soon."

"That's why I'm giving myself to you."

"But what about your well-being or good daughter reputation? You'll be giving up your innocence. Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, we've known each other for a very short time."

"There's a saying about friendship and love that 'it is not the length of time that you have known someone, but how much you know them'."

"How does that relate to us?"

"I'm just saying is that despite how little or how long we have known each other, two people can connect with each other so well that nothing else matters. It all depends on the people, Cody. Besides, if I did not do this for you, I'd be doing for innocent people. What's the loss of one teenaged girl's innocence and virginity if it will mean saving many other lives?"

"That is a noble and very unselfish cause. It would be a small loss."

"That's my point."

"But you have your future to consider."

"I'll be fine. Now, Cody, are you going love me so you can stay human for another day?"

"Are you sure you want this?"

"Yes."

"And you thought through with all the possible pros and cons of this decision?"

"Yes."

"Just one more question."

"What's that?"

"What compelled you to offer yourself to me?"

"Cody, it's a combination of things. We can talk about it later."

"No, we can't. I probably won't be around for much longer because I need to lay low and work out some problems by myself."

"I suppose I can tell you a few things."

"Please, do."

"I felt bad for accusing you of using me and after you explained your true intentions to me that I felt so moved by your sincere words. Plus, I was hoping that if we went through sexual intercourse together then maybe we create a special and physical bond with each other that if your turn into a wolf that you would remember me and hurt me."

"Is that all?"

"There are a few other factors but they're small. I don't think that it's worth mentioning them."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Now come on, we're wasting time. Let's get this over with before someone finds out."

"Okay."

"Cody, before we go on, I have a question."

"What's that?"

"Well, ummm…"

Bailey leans into Cody's ear and whispers in the question and when she's done she leans away. Cody absorbs Bailey's question.

"That never crossed my mind but even if I was willing to do that, it would only be a temporary fix. I need a more lasting effect."

"Oh….I guess that makes sense. So once this is over, will you become docile?"

"More or less. Yes."

"Okay."

Cody places the condemns on the bedside table. Then he leans in and kisses Bailey .He grabs onto her lean arms and gently pushes her down on the bed. Cody traces his fingers up and down the contour lines of Bailey's arms and then runs his hands down her sides. Bailey wraps her arms around Cody's neck for support and deepens the kiss to make herself become comfortable. Cody kicks off his shoes and slips his hands underneath Bailey's shirt. He massages her firm stomach. Bailey's moans because Cody's smooth touch feels great on her skin. She tries not to get too into the interaction since she only views what they are doing as something to keep Cody under control.

As Cody feels Bailey's stomach and sides, the moon's rays shine on his body. Cody tries his hardest to ignore the moon's demands but he begins to slowly transform. First, his claws come in and then some fur grows on his elbows. Cody digs his claws into Bailey's sides and draws some blood. Bailey moans in pain and pulls away. Cody pulls his claws out of Bailey's body.

"I'm sorry, Bailey. Should we stop?"

"No. We have to speed up before you get a chance to completely transform and become a violent, bloodthirsty werewolf."

"But I don't want to force myself on you."

"You won't. I'm going to help you."

"What?"

Bailey yanks Cody close to her and kisses him on the lips. She takes off her shirt and kicks off her socks. Then she yanks on Cody's belt. She would have preferred to take things slow but she feared that she had to speed things up a little bit. Cody takes Bailey's actions as a sign for him to join in. He takes off his socks, pants and shirt and fiercely kisses Bailey. Cody becomes aggressive and practically tears off Bailey's pants, but executes the action with precise swiftness. Bailey tilts her head to the side to intensify the kiss. Cody gets excited and pulls Bailey close to him. He pokes out his tongue and runs it against Bailey's lips. She opens her mouth and lets Cody slip his tongue in.

Bailey experienced two different emotions. She was scared yet excited that Cody's tongue was in her mouth. It was a completely new experience for her and she had to adapt to it. Cody's hands roam up her stomach and stop on her chest. Bailey knows that Cody is controlled by his animalistic side, but she wasn't expecting him to be so bold so soon. He squeezes her breasts and uses his thumbs to brush over her nipples that are covered by her bra. The kiss becomes more passionate between Bailey and Cody as Cody still develops a few wolf traits. His fangs come back and his craving for fresh blood and flesh shifts into gear. However, Cody forces himself to stay in control. Cody breaks away from the kiss as he can feel his fangs popping out from his mouth. Bailey stares at him with concern and horror.

"Cody, what's happening to you?"

"I'm sorry, Bailey."

"For what?"

Cody doesn't answer Bailey. Instead, he growls and glares at Bailey. The moon shines directly onto his body and he's about to turn around to face it but Bailey gets Cody's attention by turning his head back toward hers.

"Cody, please, stay human just a little longer. Only pay attention me. You do not pay attention to the moon, you pay attention to me."

Cody growls at Bailey, but she doesn't give up. Bailey pulls on Cody's collar and forces his head down so that she presses her lips against his own. Bailey forcibly wraps her arms Cody's neck and sits up while she does so. She then trails kisses on his neck and rubs his ears between her thumbs and index fingers. She leans in and whispers in his left ear.

"Cody, you're better than this. The moon is abusive. Only pay attention to me and I'll care for you. I won't anything bad happen to you. If you promise to be good for me then I'll promise to be good for you."

Bailey then desperately nibbles on Cody's left ear in an attempt to sedate him. He can feel Bailey softly nibbling on his ear and his eyes close to half way. He calms down and fangs and elbow fur go away. He gains some conscious nesses of his form human self and briefly hugs Bailey before he plants soft kisses on her neck. He soon nibbles on her skin and unclips her bra from her backside. Bailey succumbs to Cody's non-oral wishes and pushes off the straps of her bra so that it falls off completely.

Cody pulls back and takes in the image of Bailey's exposed breasts. They were round, lush and creamy peach color. Her nipples were pink and soft. Cody looked back into Bailey's eyes.

"Bailey."

"Yeah, Cody?"

"Your breasts are lovely just like the rest of your body and your personality."

Bailey didn't know what to think of Cody's comment. She decided that he meant well.

"Thank you. But keep moving on so we can finish this."

"Sure."

Cody holds onto Bailey and kisses her neck. He trails his kisses down to her collar bone then down to in-between her breasts. Cody then suckled on the left breast while he fondled the right one. Bailey leaned back and tried to enjoy the feel of Cody's tongue and fingers teasing her skin. But Bailey had trouble relaxing because a whirlwind of emotions went through her body. One side of her wanted to thoroughly enjoy Cody loving her body while the other side of her was scared to death to what would happen if Cody turned into his wolf form. After ten seconds, Cody switched breasts. Bailey tried to join in and slid her hands down Cody's boxers. She felt weird when her hands came in contact with Cody's penis. She got a hold on his manhood and rubbed her hands up and down until she heard a moan from Cody. It was apparent to her that she was capable of pleasing Cody. Even she had to admit that there was a small part of her that was afraid that she would not be good enough to please, but she proved herself wrong. Cody moaned again and got a little too excited. His claws came out again and dug into Bailey's skin. Bailey repressed a painful scream and only mumbled. Cody drew back and gently stroke Bailey's chest to attempt to sooth her pain since there were small droplets of blood sliding down her skin. Cody licked away the blood and resumed caressing Bailey's body. His hands found their way to Bailey's underwear and pulled them off and proceeded to stroke her vagina. Bailey groaned and instinctively tightened her grip on Cody's manhood. In response, he groaned as well. After the domino effect of groans occurred, something new and exciting tore through the awkward atmosphere. Things got hot and heavy between the farm girl and the werewolf boy.

Cody eagerly finger Bailey's clitoris while she pulled down his boxers. She played with his penis while he teased one of her 'hot spots'. The two of them continued what they were doing until both of them were wet, hot and swollen in between their legs. Cody moved his hands up Bailey's body and massaged her breasts. Bailey arched her back and moaned in pleasure for the first time. They quickly got more into the swing of things and allowed themselves full liberty to love the other's body with their obedient hands.

As soon as Bailey and Cody's were hot and sweaty and demanding to finally be pushed far enough to explode, Cody fiercely kissed Bailey while he reached over and grabbed a condemn. He trailed kisses down he neck and all about her breasts. As Cody tasted Bailey's sweet skin, his fangs grew out. Cody bit Bailey in her chest. Bailey bit her lip to suppress her scream and rubbed Cody's head. He pulled away and opened up the condemn and placed it on his engorged penis. He got in position and hovered over Bailey's waiting body.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes. Just do me now."

"Okay."

Cody carefully slid his erect penis in Bailey's vagina. Bailey twisted her face in pain and Cody stopped.

"Are you sure about this? Are you okay?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure I'm not hurting you?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

Cody pumped in and out of Bailey. He went slow at first but then he got faster and faster. As he went, he added more pressure. Bailey's ears, forehead and cheeks turned a deep red color and her body got hotter by the minute. Bailey didn't know if she should enjoy herself or if she should stay silent. Bailey decided to choose the later choice but couldn't stay quiet for long because she screamed right before she exploded. Cody had pulled out of her just in time to release cum himself. Bailey instinctively crossed her arms across her breasts and panted. Cody took off the condemn and threw it on the bedside table before he leaned over Bailey.

"Bailey, are you okay?"

Bailey was overwhelmed with emotion and began to cry. Cody tried to sooth her and gently stroked her cheeks.

"Shh….Bailey please, calm down. What's the matter?"

Bailey got all choked up so she couldn't speak. Before Cody could speak, there was the sound of disturbed and worried Eunice. She kept calling for Bailey to see if she was okay. Cody panicked and didn't know what would happen if Eunice saw him and Bailey naked in bed together. Since he didn't risk of Bailey looking bad in her parents' eyes, he chose to make the situation lean in Bailey's favor. He quickly got off the bed, scrambled for his clothes, and jumped out the window. Bailey sat up and covered herself with the sheets. As soon as Bailey was covered up, Eunice came in to see her daughter distressed and naked and she was rocking back and forth. Eunice closed the door behind and rushed to Bailey's side.

"Bailey, what's wrong? What happened?"

"He…"

Before Bailey could say anything more, she had burst into tears and trembles. Eunice immediately wrapped her arms around her daughter.

"Who was it, Bailey? What did he do to you?"

"He stole my…."

"Did a boy come and rape you?"

Bailey was shocked by her mother's assumption but couldn't help but just cry. Eunice was red in the face but rubbed Bailey's bare back. She cooed to her and then hollered for Clyde.

"Clyde!"

A door could be heard and slammed. Bailey wrapped herself in her sheets before her father came in the room.

"What Eunice?"

"Clyde, Bailey had been sexually violated by a boy?"

"She was raped!? How?! Who's the scumbag?! I'm gonna kill him!"

"Clyde, that's not going to help."

Eunice turned toward Bailey.

"Could you tell what he looked like?"

"No. I was too busy screaming and being in pain."

"Did Cody try to protect you?"

"He hasn't been around for a while."

"Where did he go?"

"He went out to get something from outside but he hasn't come back."

"Do you think that something happened to him?"

Bailey rocked back and forth underneath the safety of her bed sheets. In the meantime, Cody was trying to put his clothes back on but he was frozen with fear and guilt. He could hear what Bailey's parents were saying. He was being accused of raping Bailey. Cody thought about what had occurred between him and Bailey and maybe technically he did rape her. He didn't want to a guy who raped an innocent, teenaged girl who was helping him. Cody decided that it would not help him if he came back as his human form. He took off his boxers and stuffed all of his clothes except for his shirt in the shrinkable and expandable carrying case that he created and then shrunk it and put it back on. Then he forced a transformation, picked up his shirt with his teeth and hopped off the roof.

While Cody prowled around in his wolf form, Bailey was being grilled by her father with discerning questions. Clyde stared at his daughter as he questioned her.

"Why would Cody leave the house?"

"He forgot something from outside."

"How did the mystery boy get up on the roof? How could you not notice him?"

"I did notice him. It's not hard to climb the roof and he forced himself into the room and onto me."

"Who would do this to you? Why would they do this to you? You're a nice girl, Bailey."

"Clyde, asking Bailey all these question isn't helping. She has been victimized and you can care about of why she had let it happen? Don't you have any sympathy for your daughter?!"

"I do. I just want to make sure that she wasn't a sitting duck!"

"Oh, you…."

"What, Eunice? What I am supposed to say to Bailey? I'm sorry that this happened to you and I'll sue the boy's family?"

"Something like that. Yes!"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"Oh, whatever. "

Eunice looked at Bailey. "Bailey, will you be okay?"

Before Bailey could respond to her mother's good-natured question, a loud noise could be heard from downstairs. All of them looked toward the door.

"What was that?"

Clyde stayed quiet and left the room and crept down the stairs and saw a wolf with a shirt in its mouth. Clyde recognized the shirt as Cody's and immediately assumed that the demon wolf returned and killed off Cody. He was red in the face and grabbed the nearest sharp object and charged toward the wolf. Cody saw Clyde charge at him and dropped his shirt on the ground. He ran out of the house and kept running until Clyde got too tired to chase him. He yelled at him and cursed at him and promised that he would kill him one day. Cody collapsed under a tree as soon as Clyde was done chasing him and went back to the house. Cody rested for a while and then went back to the house to see Bailey before he would leave for a few days.

It was ten at night and Bailey was dressed up in her pajamas, snuggled in her bed. She got ready for bed once her father came back home after chasing the wolf and once she picked up Cody's discarded, black shirt. Bailey sat in her bed wondering what will happen to her life if Cody was killed off. She realized that her sacrifice would not be worthwhile if Cody was killed before he could be helped and cured. But then again, Bailey had to admit that she didn't mind that she gave herself up to Cody. She didn't know why, she just felt okay with him doing what he did to her. As Bailey thought things through, the wolf hopped up the roof and pawed at the window. Bailey looked up and immediately recognized the wolf as Cody. She got out of bed and opened the window. Cody jumped through it and had a rough landing on the wooden floor. Bailey closed the window and grabbed Cody by his collar and dragged him to her bed and yelled whispered to him.

"Are you crazy!? Why did you come back? My father is going to kill you!"

Cody just whimpered and looked really sad at Bailey. She sighed and had let go of his collar. She got underneath her covers and patted a space on the bed next to her.

"Fine. Come here, Cody. You can sleep with me tonight."

Cody hopped up on Bailey's bed and circled around before he laid down and curled up in a furry ball.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Cody lifted his wolf head and stared at Bailey in wonderment. He waited for her to continue to speak.

"You screwed with me and stole my virginity. The least you could do is take responsibility for your actions as your _human self_. If you can force a wolf transformation then you can force yourself to transform back into a human and sleep by my side for tonight."

Cody moaned and then stood up on all fours. Then he transformed and quickly crawled underneath the sheets. Bailey stared at Cody.

"Why are you naked?"

"I learned a long time ago that my clothes rip apart when I transform into a wolf. So, I created a shrinkable and expandable case that holds my clothes when I need them. It is necessary for me to be naked when I turn from my wolf form to my human form until I can put on some clothes. Do you want me to dress up?"

"No. You'll probably leave in your wolf so you can make a sneaky escape from the house."

"Are you sure? I could at least throw on my shirt if it's still around."

Bailey picked up Cody's black shirt from the floor and handed it to him.

"Here you go."

"Uh, thanks."

Cody takes his shirt and throws it on over his body.

"Ready to go to bed?"

"Not yet, Bailey. There are a few things that I would like to clear up with you before we put today behind us and rest."

"What's that?"

"Did I rape you?"

"No."

"Did you feel obligated to have sexual intercourse with me?"

"A little."

"Do you regret it even it might save many lives?"

"No. I don't regret it."

"Do you realize that I'll be gone long before you wake up in the morning?"

"Yes."

"Do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I'll have to lay low for a while and also think some things through. I think that if I'm gone for a while the separation will be good for both of us. We both will come personal time and get to think about where our own, individual lives are going."

"Okay. I guess that makes sense. How long will you be gone?"

"I can't say. I'll leave a note for you in the morning on your desk."

"Fine."

"Do you hate me for what I did to you?"

"No. How could you say that?"

"Well, your parents think you got raped."

"That's not their problem. It's my problem. But they also think that I got raped because you weren't here to protect me since you were presumably being killed off by the wolf."

"I'm sorry that I screwed everything up for you. I'm really sorry."

"I understand, Cody. It's okay."

"It's not okay! How could you be so forgiving?"

"I just am. Now, could we please go to bed? We both will have a long day ahead of us."

"Yeah…You with being watched by your parents and me staying in the shadows as the bloodthirsty, heartless, demon wolf."

"Cody, don't say that! You're a great guy. I know who you really are side from you being a werewolf. I'm telling you now, if we lived in the same area and you weren't a werewolf and we happened to get to know each other then I probably would have loved to be more than friends with you. Cody, don't put yourself down just because you're cursed."

"But what if what you did for me won't last long enough and I become a violent, eating machine and that I won't remember you and kill you like all the other people that I've eaten and killed? What if the best thing to do was to kill me from the start?"

"Stop thinking about those things! I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to help you no matter what."

Cody gave Bailey a sincere yet sad smile.

"Thank you."

Then Cody hugged Bailey and kissed her on the forehead. Bailey blushed when Cody was busy kissing her forehead. Afterwards, he settled back down on the bed and laid back.

"So, goodnight, I guess."

"Yeah…Goodnight, Cody."

Bailey laid down on her bed and turned off the light. Cody rolled on his side and spooned Bailey underneath the sheets. Before they fell asleep, Cody murmured something very odd.

"I love you."

Bailey quickly turned her head to Cody. She thought she was imagining things.

"Did you say something?"

"No. Goodnight."

Just then Cody rested his chin on Bailey's shoulder and fell asleep with his arms neatly wrapped around her body. Bailey, on the other hand, was a little confused. She could have sworn that she heard Cody proclaim that he loved her. But she had no actual proof of him saying anything so she shrugged her shoulders and went to sleep.

To Be Continued…


	10. Some Hope And Anxiety

At four in the morning, Cody woke up. He had trouble getting out of bed because Bailey had rolled onto one of his arms. He carefully pulled his arm from beneath Bailey's body so that he could leave without disturbing her. After precise deliberation and a few seconds, Cody was able to free his arm from underneath Bailey's body. He bunched a blanket around his waist and got up. He walked over to where the desk and window was. Cody then got a piece of paper and a pen and wrote Bailey a note. Once he was done writing his note, he walked back to Bailey, leaned down and kissed her forehead. Then he walked back to the window, dropped the blanket, took off his shirt and placed in the case and transformed into a wolf. He hopped up on the desk, pushed opened the window and jumped through it. Once Cody was on the roof, he wasted no time on leaving. As soon as he was on the ground, he made tracks.

An hour and a half later, Bailey woke up. She got out of bed and saw a blanket on the floor. She picked it and tossed it on the bed. She then shuffled over to her desk and saw a folded piece of paper. She picked up the piece of paper and unfolded it. She found that it was the note that Cody left her. She decided to read it.

The Note:

Bailey-

You have been wonderful and very patient with me. If I ever get cured then I'll forever be in your debt. I will find a way to re-pay you no matter what it takes. And even though we've only known each other for a short while, I'll miss you more than the particle beams missed each other at the large hydrunk collider since its super conducting magnets were damaged in 2008. I also wanted you to know that I was attracted to you like two opposite magnets that attract each other because you give off positive energy while I give off negative energy. On one last note, you should expect me to return between two to three days from now. If I've been gone for more than three days then I'm either in dire trouble or dead.

-Cody

Bailey could feel a few tears well up in her eyes but she brushed them away with a thumb. She then angrily crumpled up the note and threw on the floor.

"I hate him!"

Bailey broke into tears and ranted about she hated and loved him. After she ranted and raved on how Cody left her high and dry, Bailey went on with her life and got ready for the day.

During most of the day, Bailey kept thinking on what Cody could be doing and why he had to have space from her. She supposed that things were getting very tense that maybe it was best that they had time apart. She did her chores and homework. When she was done for the day, Bailey went to the couch and found the clothing items that Cody used for his Halloween costume. She them to her room and placed them in a little bag. Afterwards, she returned to the couch to put away the blankets and pillow. Then she went to bedroom and called it a night.

For the next two days, Bailey counted the hours until each day was over. She counted the seconds when she woke, counted the minutes when she was at school, and counted the hours when dinner was over. On Monday, Bailey tried her best to stay focused on her school work. She barely paid attention to her teachers but she managed. Back on the farm, Bailey gave herself time to only focus on her chores and look after her younger sister and she was able to do that. By Tuesday, She felt a little better and could fully focus on her teachers at school and she did fine with farm work and helped her mom with making dinner. It wasn't until that night did Bailey begun to feel uneasy. She had no idea that would come for her the next day or so.

Before Bailey went to bed, she looked out at the moon and marveled at its beauty. She recalled on how much power it had over Cody and had spite for the lunar orb. Bailey sighed and locked the window. She walked over to her bed and crawled up on the sheets. She huddled underneath the covers and hugged herself. She felt so lonely even though she was with her family. She felt so cold even though she was underneath warm sheets. She was so angry at Cody yet she feared for his safety. He had stolen her heart, gave it back, stole her virginity and then stole her heart again. Bailey was sick of Cody making her go on a roller coaster of emotions. She was tired of not knowing exactly how Cody felt. She did have a feeling how his human side felt, but she was unsure of how his wolf side felt about her. Bailey shrugged her shoulders believing that she didn't have to worry how his wolf side felt and decided just to wait for the results from the scientist in Kansas City. She had gotten a call and was expecting test results the next day. Hopefully, everything would be better by Wednesday. Bailey cleared her head and laid back in her bed. She reached over and turned out the light. She was ready for a new day and was ready to see Cody again. Bailey fell asleep with hope in her soul and pain in her heart. Deep down inside her, Bailey ached for companionship from Cody. She would see him again someday, but it wouldn't exactly be a happy reunion.

To Be Continued…

**Sorry for short chapter and odd update. As a warning, I'll be doing Jury Duty for these few days. :/ Stupid Jury Duty XP.**


	11. Red And Black

Cody had been on the prowl since Sunday. He had not eaten any humans for three days. But on Wednesday night while he was walking in the shadows, Cody spotted a farm five miles down the road from the Pickett farm. The moon light was bright and strong. It shined down on Cody's silver fur. Cody walked toward the farm. He then proceeded to walk toward the house. He looked up through a window in the front yard and saw a family of three: a man, a women and a little girl. The man and woman appeared to be a young, married couple who had a five year old daughter. The mother and father looked like they were helping their daughter go to bed. Cody could see the inside of the little girl's bedroom and saw how her parents sat on either side of her bed and gave her a kiss of the forehead. Cody thought of how he would feel if he was in the same position as the father. He wondered who he would take for as a wife. The only two possibilities were Barbara and Bailey.

After some deliberation, Cody could see himself with Bailey far more than being with Barbara. Bailey was refreshingly different from Barbara. She was so understand, caring and nice. She was so loving and willing to do anything to help those who badly needed her help. He could envision a life with her. He could imagine him meeting her if he wasn't a werewolf and falling in love and having a life together. They would be married for two years and then have a daughter. She would have her mother's hair and eyes and her father's gentle and fragile heart. She would have her mother's wits, kindness and patience and she would be smart. She also would be the cutest kid in the whole town. That is how Cody would think of his and bailey's first child if he even had a shot of being with her in the first place. But he digressed why he truly was at the house. He had held out for two nights and he had been good at repressing his carnivorous appetite, but he was weakening and would need to replenish his energy source. However, no matter how Cody felt weak, he could not bring himself to target the peaceful family of three. He tried to veer away and move onto another house but he did not go anywhere. He did not leave his post from the window. Instead, he became victim of the moon's commands and lost part of his human conscious. He became more like the hungry, bloodthirsty wolf like he was before he ran into Bailey. Cody's eyes grew wide and he growled. He licked his chops and stared at the married couple with gluttonous eyes.

Cody's wolf-like appetite was rising. He could practically see red. He could almost taste the blood and flesh of two perfectly healthy human beings. His mouth was wet with dripping saliva. He waited for the opportune moment. Once the little girl was tucked away in bed and her parents said goodnight to her, they left the bedroom and went to the kitchen. Cody had no control over himself. It was just his wolf instinct and his hunger for human flesh. His fangs grew sharp and he pressed a paw against a panel of the window and opened it. He hopped inside the house and snuck around the corner. The parents were talking about their upcoming chores on the farm. Cody crept low against the wooden floor. He slowly walked up behind them. When they finally turned around, they screamed. Cody lunged at the man first and tore off his face. The woman screamed and instinctively ran for her daughter's room. But before she could get to the hallway, Cody leaped toward her and clawed her back. She screamed in pain. He tore open her chest and carnivorously ate her heart. Blood splattered everywhere. The red bodily fluid splattered on the floor, the walls and parts of the ceiling.

The little girl woke up from the commotion and walked out to find Cody eating her mother's face. She screamed and cried at the same time. The little girl's scream was like a siren to Cody. It was a wake-up call to him. He stopped devouring the mother's flesh and stared at the little girl. He slowly regained his human conscious as he approached her. She continued to scream and then bolted out of the house. She ran as far as her little body would take her until she could no longer go anywhere else. She automatically ran toward some of her neighbor's that she knew. With each passing farm that she came in contact with, no one was awake. It wasn't until the little girl's legs no longer took any requests and halted her back to the Pickett Farm. It was the last neighboring farm she could depend on. With a river of tears flowing down her plump cheeks, she banged on the door crying for help, crying for her mommy and daddy. At last, she got an answer. Eunice opened the door and saw the little girl exhausted and frightened with a tear stained face.

"Ashley? Sweetie, why aren't you back home in your warm bed?"

"My mommy and daddy are dead! I want them back!"

Ashley clung to Eunice's legs and cried into them. Eunice patted her back.

"How did this happen?"

"Big, scary wolf….! Wah-ah-ah….I want my mommy and daddy! Why did they have to go?! Why? Mommy, daddy, why!? Mommy….Daddy, please say goodbye. Mommy…..Daddy…."

Eunice picked up the trembling Ashley as she could feel snot run down the little girl's nose. She cooed to her and wrapped her up in blankets and gave her hot cocoa and had called for Clyde to explain what happened to Ashley's parents. Clyde got a shot gun and had Grammy Pickett accompany Eunice in comforting Ashley. The poor girl must have been traumatized. All the while, Bailey was doing her homework. She recently received the test results from Kansas City earlier that day and they didn't seem very promising, but there was some hope a cure if only Cody would come back. She finished her homework and had put away her school supplies in her backpack when she heard rapid banging on her bedroom door. Accompanied by the banging was a distraught and anger voice of her father.

"Bailey! Bailey! Bailey! Open the door now!"

Bailey urgently opened her bedroom door and saw her father red faced with tear stained cheeks and poison about spill from his tongue.

"Bailey, we need your help. Fix a nice cozy bed and warm and welco0ming atmosphere in your bedroom. Ashley Tibbles is here with us and she'll be with for a while. You will stay with her over night until your mother and I arrange some space in our room so we can keep her safe. Make feel her at home like she is family."

"Why?"

"Forgive me for saying this and I'll do ten Hail Mary's, but that God damn demon wolf came back and killed Ashley's parents! He killed the Mr. Johnson, the Weavles, your friend, Cody, and now Mr. and Mrs. Tibbles. We need to kill the demon wolf now!"

Bailey stood still in shock. She had a vague expression on her face. Clyde assumed that bailey was just processing what he told her and went on to finish his piece before he would go back down the stairs.

"Bailey, get a cot and make it safe and comfortable for Ashley and bring out any old stuffed toys you still keep around and give them to Ashley. Make sure to have plenty of tissues around and read her a bedtime story or accommodate to her needs in any way possible. Got it, young lady?"

Bailey snapped out of her daze. "Yes, papa."

Clyde nodded his head toward Bailey, patted her on the shoulder and then went back down the stairs with a shot gun in hand. Bailey bit her lip. She left her bedroom and slammed the door behind her. Just when she thought her efforts would hold Cody over for more than a few days, all hell breaks loose. She goes and gets a cot and sets it up in her bedroom, far from the window, closet and door. Then she gets blankets, sheets, and two pillows and sets them on the cot. She fluffs up the pillows, flattens out the sheets, layers on the blankets and sets her bunny rabbit toy with its dress on and a tan teddy bear on the cot. Bailey then finds an old nightlight and plugs into one of the walls sockets. She informs her sisters of what is going on as she bothers to stop by their rooms. They understand what they must do to ease the pain of the situation and scavenge to find great children's books for bedtime stories.

Elsewhere, Cody is mauling over his actions. He paces back and forth. His paws occasionally stick to the pool of blood. His human side slowly gains control of his wolf body and is repulsed by the sight before him. The sheer sight of two mangled bodies is a punch to Cody's human heart. He wants so badly to change back but he has tasted blood and flesh and his wolf side is resisting him. He thought that if he was strong enough that he would be able to transform. However, he realized that he must be both physically and mentally strong to transform. He was so guilt ridden that he didn't know where to start. Cody kept on pacing back and forth in the pool of fresh and sticking blood until he thought of something very risky but was technically obligated to do. He had to return to Bailey to see what could be done about this whole fiasco. He would not expect Bailey to forgive him once he knew that she knew. He just needed her opinion on the matter.

Cody tried to transform but he got only halfway between a human and a wolf. He stood up on two legs with claws and fangs but he had similar body build to a human's. He tried harder and finally transformed back into a human. He quickly changed into his clothes and then found a river or stream. He cupped some water in his palms and drank it. However, just seconds after he drank the water, he puked it back up and then vomited. He was in a cold sweat and haunted with the memory of eating a mother and father in front of their daughter. He could never wash away the sin of him devouring an innocent little girl's parents. He could never forgive himself. He may as well be labeled as a freak. He believed at that moment that he fittingly had a shock collar and tracking bracelet on. He felt that everything would be over for him soon. This last incident was the last straw. Cody couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't wait for the police officers and scientists from Boston to ketch up with him. He needed his life to be ended very soon.

Then an idea hit him like a ton of bricks. Instead of just asking Bailey for her opinion, he should just tell her to kill him. He thought that would be best. He would be free, she would be free and no more lives would have to be lost. It was a win-win-win situation. Cody made the final decision to go to Bailey and have her do away with him, to shoot him down. He just hoped that when she killed him off that she would either shoot him in the heart in the head so it would a quick death. After thinking about Bailey killing him off, Cody had goose bumps. He rocked back and forth near the river, sweating bullets. He kept rocking until he threw up again. Once he collected himself, he stood up and made the trek back to the Pickett Farm on foot. He was lucky enough to stay in his human form.

Twenty minutes later, Cody made it to the farm. He weakly shuffled to the front door. He knocked on the door twice and then waited for a reply. Nothing. He knocked two more times. Still nothing. He knocked another two times. Again nothing. He was not getting any reply. Cody slowly breathed in and out for three times and then focused. He knocked two more times. Finally, the door opened. Cody did not see Eunice on the other side, but Bailey.

"Bailey?"

Bailey yanked Cody inside the house by his collar and closed the door behind him. She certainly was seething on the inside.

"What did you do?"

"I-"

"I know what you did, Cody! I want to know why."

"I'm sorry. I lost control of my conscious."

"Do you realize what you have done?! Why did you come back now at this time?"

"I know. I'm sorry. I just thought I would back now since I technically promised you that I would come back."

"Is that all you're going to say?!"

"No."

Bailey calmed down a bit and allowed Cody to continue speaking.

"I came here for a very specific favor to ask of you."

"Whatever is it, can it wait until later? I have to go tuck Ashley in."

"No. It can't wait."

"Why? What's your stupid request?"

Cody grimaced at Bailey's poisonous tone of voice. He knew what he had done and he regretted every bit of it. Once Bailey saw the hurt expression on Cody's face and the sign of regret in his eyes, her stern expression softened. But she still had a firm hold of her anger toward Cody. She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"What is it?"

"Kill me."

"What?"

"Shoot me. End my life. I don't care if you shoot me in the heart or in the head; I just want you to kill me. Go ahead and get a gun and shoot me. Please, do it quick."

Bailey slowly moved her arms down not from anger but from terror and remorse. Her breath hitched in her throat.

"What?"

Cody stared straight into Bailey's brown eyes.

"Let's face it, Bailey! I'm a fucking monster! I raped you-"

"You did not rape me. I gave you consent."

"That's only because you felt obligated to do so!"

"I gave you permission to enter me."

"I'm a horny, bloodthirsty bastard. I'm a Godforsaken creature! A thing at best! I took advantage of you and ate an innocent, little girl's parents in front of her. I ate her mother pulsing heart!"

Cody then showed Bailey his blood drenched hands.

"See these hands, Bailey!? They have blood on them! It's not my blood; it's the blood of the little girl's parents'!"

Bailey took one step back. She could see some blood splattered on his face. "I can see that, Cody."

"Then what are you waiting for? Kill me now before it's too late, before I kill you."

"I'm not going to kill you, Cody. It wouldn't be right."

"Kill me! Grab a gun or some sharp object and kill me…..! I can't…."

Cody began to cry. "I can't take it anymore, Bailey….Please…Enough is enough. Kill me now."

Bailey shook her head. Cody yelped in frustration and in pain. He plopped himself on the couch and dug his forehead into his right hand which still had fresh blood on it. As he rubbed his palm against his forehead, stick blood smeared against his face and stained his blonde bangs. His voice was barely over a whisper.

"I don't get it, Bailey. Why won't you do away with me?"

Bailey wanted to approach Cody but then changed her mind. "Cody….."

"If you can't kill me then have your father kill me. He's been dying to kill me anyway."

"No. I don't want to expose your identity."

Cody whipped his head around to face Bailey which shocked her. His face was red and stained with tears and spots of blood and his nose was a little runny. "Then what to you want me to do?!"

Bailey's heart broke a little bit since Cody's voice sounded so strained and…well broken. But, then again, her heart has been breaking a little bit every now and again since Ashley came to their home.

"Cody…..I have to tuck Ashley in bed. Would you like to come with me and make peace with her even though she won't know who you are?"

"No."

Cody sternly turned his head away from Bailey and spat some blood out his mouth and onto the floor.

"Okay. Uh, I'll be back as soon as possible so we can continue our discussion."

Cody just grunted. Bailey didn't know who feel bad for more: Cody or Ashley. She weighed different factors on how each individual suffered so much, but when she considered the big picture and the longest time period of suffering, Cody has suffered more than Ashley, but Ashley probably will be traumatized for the rest of her life. Bailey just felt so bad for both of them. She knew that Cody needed her help desperately but she had to tend to Ashley since kids required more attention and love than….a lonely, cursed werewolf. Bailey made the decision that even though she would tuck Ashley in and say goodnight to her, she would try her best to rush back to Cody's side because he deserved as much attention and love as a young child deserved when they're scared and lonely. Cody technically was a child. It's just that he was in a bigger body with a more developed brain. He was just as lost, scared and confused as a child would be who was briefly separated by their parents in a grocery store or in a public park.

Bailey quickly stepped up the stairs, went to her room, tucked Ashley in, gently stroked her forehead a few time and then read her a bedtime story. Once she was done reading to Ashley, Bailey had the little girl lay down, snuggle her bunny rabbit and teddy bear and close her eyes. Then she changed into her pajamas, turned on the nightlight, turned off the light and left the room with the door opened by a quarter of a way. Bailey scurried down the stairs, grabbed a blanket from the linens closet and made a bee line for the couch. Once she was in close range of Cody's slumped body, she sat down next to him and draped a blanket over his shoulders.

"Was I gone long?"

Cody didn't look at Bailey. He just stared at the floor like it was the most entertaining thing in the whole world.

"A little."

Bailey scooted up on the couch closer to Cody and tucked her legs on her side.

"Cody, why do you want me to kill you?

"I just feel that it will solve many problems if I died."

"But why do I have to kill you? Why me?"

"Bailey, I just thought that it would be fitting if you killed me. After all, you chose to get yourself involved in this whole situation and you have the responsibility to kill me."

"Well, I don't care what you say, Cody, I'm not going to kill you."

"Why?"

"Because-because I….."

Cody lifted his head up and looked at Bailey. He rose an eyebrow at her.

"Because of what?"

Bailey couldn't explain exactly why she didn't want to kill Cody, but she did know that it wouldn't feel right to her if she took a life, especially Cody's life. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she knew that she was responsible for Cody's death. She still had hope that he could be cured. She didn't want to give up on him, she simply couldn't.

"Bailey?"

"Look, Cody, I told you that I'm not kill you and that is the end of that."

"But I'm running out of time."

"Cody, I'm not going to kill you…."

"Fine….But what's there left?"

"The test results."

"They came?"

"Yes."

"What are they?"

"They don't look too good, but there is some hope."

"What?"

"The results indicate that there is one way to cure you of your werewolf curse."

"What's that?"

"You're probably have to return to the source and have the curse reversed…"

"No. That will be impossible. I'd rather wait here and die by the hands of angry police officers and crazy scientists."

"But Cody… You still have chance."

"No. Besides, why do you care so much now? I thought you hated me."

"I never hated you, Cody."

"Why?"

"I got to know the kind and sensitive and smart side of you, the human side of you. I want to get to know that side of you better."

Cody sighed. He still didn't look at Bailey. "Well, set your heart on a new fantasy. I probably won't be around much longer."

Bailey didn't say anything. She simply wrapped her arms around Cody's body and clung to him.

"I want to be here for you, Cody."

At last, Cody looked at Bailey with sincere eyes.

"Why?"

"Let's just leave it at that."

Then Bailey kissed Cody on the forehead and cuddled close to him. He stretched out and arm and wrapped it around Bailey's slim waist.

Bailey breathed on Cody's neck. "Cody."

Cody nuzzled his face into Bailey's neck. "Bailey, I'm so sorry."

Bailey could feel hot tears drip from Cody's face onto her cool skin. "I know. I forgive you."

Cody cried even harder. He then wrapped his other arm around Bailey's body and pulled her even closer to his body. If they were any closer, they would be sharing contour lines. Cody whispered some desperate words into Bailey's left ear.

"Bailey."

"Yeah?"

"If for some miraculous reason, I come out okay and I'm a normal guy again, will you promise me soothing?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Will you promise to always be there for me and never leave me?"

"I promise as long as I live and beyond. I'll always be there for you forever."

Cody buried his tear and blood stained face in the crook of Bailey's neck. He mumbled something but Bailey was able to hear it.

"Thank you."

Bailey had a tiny smile on her face. She kindly whispered back in Cody's right ear. "You're welcome."

Cody hugged Bailey as if for dear life and then after a five second hug, he had let her go.

"So, what now? I can't exactly stay here."

"Sleep here on the couch and before anyone else wakes up, hide in the barn that no one uses."

"You mean, the barn that we….?"

'"Yes."

"Okay."

"Stay here, Cody. Promise me that you'll stay in the house for tonight."

"I promise."

"We'll sort things out later tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Good night."

"Good night."

Before Bailey could get up from the couch, Cody grabbed onto her left arm. Bailey stared at Cody with wonder.

"What is it, Cody?"

"It's just that I-"

"That you what, Cody?"

Cody stayed silent. He abruptly pulled Bailey close to him and placed a hot and passionate kiss on her lips. She was surprised at first but then melted into the kiss. She wrapped her arms Cody's neck and ran her fingers through his hair. Cody pressed his lips hard against Bailey's which made her slip out a small, explicit moan. Before things got too intense, Bailey forced herself off of Cody and cleared her throat. She brushed her pajamas and excused herself from the couch.

"Good night, Cody."

"Sleep tight, Bailey."

Bailey blushed, turned head away from Cody and scoffed.

"Same to you."

Then she walked away and went up the stairs. Cody laid down on the couch and placed the blanket over his suddenly warm body. He closed his eyes, relaxed and soon fell asleep. At least he had a decent end to a horrible day. He got to see Bailey again. He was ready to be either cured or killed. He didn't care because he talked to Bailey about his problems and now everything is out in the open between the two of them.

To Be Continued…


	12. As Blood Flows

At four thirty in the morning, Cody woke up from the couch. He folded up the blanket and placed it in the linen closet. Then he went to the kitchen sink and washed off the blood. He dried off his face and hands on a towel. He left the kitchen and went up to Bailey's room. Cody quietly walked over to the desk and looked at Bailey's personal belongings. He saw her backpack and opened it up. He pulled out her Chemistry textbook and read through it. He had missed doing school work and wondered how well Bailey faired. Cody was sure that Bailey was intelligent but he wondered how intelligent she actually was. Cody found Bailey's homework answers and matched them to the questions. He read everything he had to know and then checked her work. After some time, Cody knew that Bailey had flawless answers. Her work reminded him a lot like his work before he became a werewolf no thanks to Zack. Cody placed Bailey's homework back where he found it and had put away the textbook in the backpack. He zipped up the backpack and walked up to Bailey. He looked beyond Bailey and saw a little girl in a cot that he suspected was Ashley. She was holding a bunny rabbit with a dress on and it was about to fall out of her hand. Cody rushed over to the cot and caught the bunny rabbit toy. He nicely tucked it in the crook of Ashley's arm and pulled a blanket over her body and re-tucked the blankets.

Cody went back to Bailey and stroked her forehead. He just wished that he was a human again. Everything in his life had gotten so complicated. He just wanted to return to school and move on with his life. But if he did return to his old life then he would have to deal with Zack's pranks, Mr. Moseby's criticism and he wouldn't see Bailey anymore. Cody made a decision. If he had the choice, he'd rather die where he was so that at least Bailey was the last person he was. It might seem a little selfish of him but he didn't care. He had never felt closer to a person who wasn't a family member. He was close to his mom and considered Maddie and London to be like older sisters but he wasn't surer of himself that he felt very close to Bailey. She was like a dream come true. She was exactly what he needed in his life, someone he could connect with intellectually and emotionally. Cody leaned down and gently kissed Bailey on the lips. He had a bad feeling of what could come in the near future. And even if he was cured, Cody wanted to make sure that he could have one sincere and tender moment with Bailey before they would have to say goodbye despite her being asleep. As soon as Cody pulled away, Bailey stirred in her sleep and mumbled his name out loud. Cody brushed a stray strand of hair from her forehead and then left the room. He grabbed an apple in the kitchen and went outside and stayed in the barn.

Eight hours later at three thirty in the afternoon, Bailey snuck behind the house and went to the barn. Her parents were able to contact Ashley's aunt and uncle from her mother's side. Ashley's aunt and uncle were devastated what happened and would take Ashley back to their home as soon as they got back from visiting some family in Alabama. Bailey heard from her mom that their family would take care of Ashley for the next four days. After they were assured that Ashley could be taken care of by other family members within a short period of time. Bailey brought herself back to the present and found Cody curled up in a ball in a pile of hay. She knelt down and lightly shook his shoulders.

"Cody."

Cody mumbled.

"Cody."

Cody mumbled again.

"Cody!"

Cody finally woke up.

"What? What's going on?"

He looked up at Bailey.

"Bailey?"

Bailey took her hands off Cody's shoulders.

"Can you get up?"

"I think so."

Cody gets up from the ground and Bailey stands up with him.

"So, did you have a nice nap?"

"Yeah. So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Could we find some other place to talk?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking that we could go into town."

"Why? What's there to do?"

"We might have a small town but we have a malt shop. We could talk about things over some milkshakes or malts."

"Oh. Will that be okay with your parents?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"Whether or not you want to explain your sudden return to my parents."

"What do you think I should do?"

"If they see you and you give them a believable story to what happened to you and why you came back then you can do that."

"I'd rather have a low profile. I could sneak away to the front of the house while you tell your parents that you're going into town to meet with a friend."

"I guess that could work."

"Great. So, do I get to the front without being seen?"

"You're going to have to climb the roof and then get off from the right side. Then stay on the right side until you're ten feet away."

"Okay. I can do that."

Bailey smiled. "Good."

Then she hugged Cody and kissed him on the cheek.

"What was that for?"

"I appreciated the good morning kiss."

"You actually knew that I kissed you?"

"Yeah. I also like that you showed your sensitive side this morning."

"What do you mean?"

"You caught the bunny rabbit before it fell from Ashley's arm."

"You saw that!? I thought you were asleep."

"I was but you woke me up. I tried to go back to sleep but I couldn't help but look over my shoulder and see you with Ashley then I turned my head and closed my eyes again. By the time you kissed me, I was ready to wake up."

"Did I disturb you?"

"Not really."

"Oh. So, should I go now?"

"If you want."

"Bailey?"

"Yeah?"

"What do we have together?"

"What do you mean?"

"What kind of relationship do we have with each other?"

"I can't really say."

"Oh…Okay. Well, I'll sneak around the house while you go talk to your parents."

"Okay."

Cody politely passed by Bailey, but he couldn't get away completely without feeling a light brush from Bailey's left hand. He knew that she began to reach for him at the last second but then changed her mind. He snuck over to the house and then climbed up the roof. As he got up on top of the house, Bailey watched him. She wanted to make sure that he got up alright. Once she was reassured that Cody would be fine, she went back in the house and looked for her parents. Luckily, she ran into her mom.

"Hi, mama."

Eunice smiled at her intelligent daughter.

"Hi, Bailey. What's on your mind, darling?"

"I was wondering if it would be okay if I went to the malt shop to meet with a friend. I haven't seen him in a while."

"Who is it?"

"If I told you then you might think I'm crazy."

"Who is it, honey?"

"It's Cody."

"He's back! I thought the wolf got him?"

"Well, he got barely got away from the wolf and was able to call me. We talked a little bit on the phone and decided to meet again. He's back in town and he knows about Ashley."

"When did he call you?"

"On Monday after school."

"But does he have a place to stay?"

"Not really. He was going to leave but he felt that he had to at least tell me where he was going so he came back once he got away from the wolf."

"Oh. What a clever boy. Too bad he couldn't stick around that one night…You know….when that incident happened."

"I'm sure Cody would have protected me if he could. So, what do you say, mama? Can I go see him?"

"As long as you offer to let him back into our house."

"But what about taking care of Ashley?"

"He could actually be a big help in looking after Ashley until her aunt and uncle come over to pick her up."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. So, can I go see him?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, mama. Thank you so much."

Bailey gives Eunice a tight and warm hug. Eunice hugs Bailey back. They part after five seconds.

"You're welcome, Bailey. But don't stay away too long. There are still chores to be done and you need to do your homework."

"Of course, mama. I'll be back by four thirty."

"Okay. Now go and meet Cody at the malt shop."

"Kay."

Bailey smiles at her mom and goes out the front door. Just as she walks out of the front door and off the porch, she sees Cody hopping off the roof. He walks toward the very front of the farm while staying on the right side. Bailey walked toward the front adjacent from Cody. She kept her up her pace so she could keep her eye on him. She wanted to make sure that he got to the front okay. Once both of them reached the white picket fence, Bailey grabbed onto Cody's hand and led him into town. As soon as they were out of sight, bailey had released Cody's hand. She was sure that it safe for them to casually walk toward the malt shop in the small 'downtown' area. Bailey was hopeful that she and Cody could finally get to the bottom of how they would find a solution for Cody's situation. They already knew that the test results weren't very promising but there was a silver lining. She knew that there must be something that could be done for Cody and she wanted to discuss the issue with him.

To Be Continued…


	13. A Thorn In The Paw

It took twenty minutes for Cody and Bailey to reach the malt shop. The establishment had a little deck and wooden sign that needed to be replaced by a new one since the current one was barely hanging onto its hinges and could fall down any second. Cody and bailey walked inside and were greeted by the shop keeper and manager. He was a kind, old man with a white mustache over his thin lips and he wore black rimmed glasses. He smiled at the two teens as he finished wiping the counter top.

"Hello, Bailey. Who's your friend?"

Bailey waved to the old man.

"Hello, Mr. Becton." Bailey gestured to Cody. "This is Cody Martin."

Mr. Becton looked over at Cody.

"Where are you from boy?"

"Boston."

Mr. Becton leaned back in slight shock. "Massachusetts? What's a fine fellow like you doing here all by yourself? Aren't you lonely?"

"No, sir, Mr. Becton. I have Bailey for company. Plus, I'm a traveler."

"Do you do columns?"

"I do some reporting."

"Oh…Well, you two take a seat. I'll be with you in a moment."

Bailey led Cody to a booth with red leather and a set-in table. They sat down opposite of each other. Moments later, Mr. Becton came back with two menus. Bailey looked around and then looked at Mr. Becton.

"Where are Julie, Andrew, and Jamie?"

"Julie and Jamie are sick today and Andrew is doing a lot of favors for his neighbors."

"Oh. It's just so quiet today."

"I know, but they'll be back tomorrow."

"Hm."

"You two kids look at the menu. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay, Mr. Becton."

Mr. Becton smiles at Cody and Bailey and then leaves them. Bailey turns her attention back to Cody.

"So, Cody, do you want individual malts or shakes or just share one with me?"

"That depends. How big are they?"

Bailey thought for a moment.

"We probably should share a malt or shake."

"Okay."

"Do you want a malt or shake, Cody?"

"I've never had a malt."

"Okay. We'll have a malt. Do you prefer chocolate or vanilla?"

"Whatever you like, Bailey. I'm fine with anything."

"I guess we'll get a chocolate malt."

"Okay."

Bailey gazes at the menu just in case she wants to change her mind. Cody, on the other hand, sets down his menu. After some decisive action, Bailey sets down her menu as well. Within five minutes, Mr. Becton came back and took their order. He jotted down one order of a chocolate malt that was to be shared. He took the menus and left Cody and Bailey to themselves again. Bailey smiled at Cody.

"So, Cody….."

"Yeah?"

"You know that the test results that we were waiting for?"

"Yeah."

"They came back hours before swung by at night with blood on your face and hands."

"Oh. What did they say?"

"It's doesn't look very good for you."

"Oh….."

"But there is hope."

"Really? How?"

"Well…..you would have to go back to New Orleans and find someone to help you."

"But how I supposed to get to New Orleans? The first time I went there I was with my mom and Zack. We flew there."

"You can do that again, but I'll come with you this time."

"What?! No, no, no! I couldn't let you do that. You need to move on with your life. I'll be fine by myself."

"But what if you need a witness?"

"That's true…You're the only person I know who I can trust with my situation. I mean, I chose to expose my identity to you and you didn't try to hurt me or betray me. You just trusted me like I trusted you."

"That's my point. I can come with you. So, what if I miss school for a few days? I can always make up for lost work and catch up with my school work."

"I know."

"Pardon me?"

"You're a very intelligent girl and a diligent worker. So of course you'll be able to catch up with your school work."

Bailey blushed. She had just realized that Cody complimented her with a very warm and sincere voice.

"Thanks. I'm sure you're a very intelligent and diligent student as well. When you go back to your old life, you still have a chance to finish high school and going to college."

"No, Bailey. I mean, my mom had put me in a hoe school program just a few weeks after she realized that something terrible was going on with me after we got from New Orleans, but this was the year I couldn't take it anymore. I turned into a wolf and I haven't been able to change back to my human form until I came here."

"How many months have you've been in your wolf form?"

"About four months now."

"So you lost about two and a half months of school?"

"Pretty much."

"Well, you still have a chance of getting your high school diploma if you go back to school after the new year. I think you still have a chance to go to college."

"Why are you putting so much hope in my future? Shouldn't you be worried about your own future?"

"I do think about my future but I also care about your future."

"But why?"

"I think that everyone deserves to have the best future that they possibly can have as long as it is justified that they deserve a good life."

"But why?"

"It's because I like you."

"What's that supposed to mean? Do you mean you like me as a friend or more?"

"I can't explain how I like you. I just like you."

Cody stared at Bailey and then everything was silent. Mr. Becton came over with a chocolate malt with two spoons and two straws.

"There you two go."

Mr. Becton went back to behind the counter as soon as Cody and Bailey got their malt. Bailey casually picked up her spoon and began to eat part of the malt. Cody picked up his spoon and had a bite before Moose came in.

"Whooo-he…!"

Moose saw Bailey and walked to the booth where sat.

"My, my. Bailey, what are doing here?"

Bailey didn't bother to look at Moose. "I could ask you the same thing, Moose."

"Could you at least look at me?"

"No. I'm afraid that I might throw up if I saw your face."

"Fine. I'll walk to you."

Cody got a little uncomfortable. He could feel his blood boil as he watched Moose come up close to Bailey. Moose bent down and came face to face with Bailey. Cody could barely keep his cool. He could feel his killer instinct kick in. Moose smirked at Bailey.

"So, Bailey, how've you been?"

"I'm fine. I'm sharing a malt with Cody."

Moose turned his head toward Cody.

"Huh. Are you the boy who had interrupted my time with Bailey on Halloween night?"

"Maybe. I wouldn't consider what I did to be interrupting. I was simply trying to do the right thing. Bailey seemed irritated at the time."

"Oh, really?"

"Really. But if you like, you can talk with Bailey now because I have to use the bathroom."

Moose grinned believing he would get his chance to get back together with Bailey. Cody gets up from his spot and asks for direction to the bathroom from Mr. Becton. Bailey watches Cody walk away with fear. She doesn't want him to leave her alone with Moose. She'd rather spend time with a bloodthirsty werewolf than spend time with Moose. Cody walked to the 'bathroom' as Moose sat down in his spot. Bailey glared at Moose.

"You're in Cody's spot."

"I'll get out when he gets back."

"But you're in his spot."

"That doesn't matter. He's not using it right now. Do you mind if we talk?"

"Yes. There's nothing to talk about. Why are you here?"

"I was sent by my pa to get some bolts and wrenches and I decided to swing by here for a milkshake before I got back to the farm. What are you doing here with a scrawny feller? He can't protect you."

"Yes, he can. He protected me from you."

Moose squinted his eyes at Bailey.

"What are you talking about, Bailey? I don't think you know what or who you need protection from."

"I think I do."

Moose slammed his hands on the table and leaned over it. He smirked at Bailey and was slowly inching his face toward hers.

"You know, Bailey, you're a nice and fun girl. Why don't we have some fun and get out of here? I know I can show you a good time."

"I'm happy where I am and what I'm doing here with Cody."

"That's skinny boy won't do any good for you. He's too small!"

Bailey scooted out of her booth and stood up.

"Moose, please, leave me alone. I thought you were with Mary-Lou."

"I'm only with her to make myself more attractive and desirable to you."

"You were trying to make me jealous?"

"That's right."

Bailey began to laugh. Moose got angry and abruptly stood up from Cody's spot. Bailey was startled by Moose's action and accidentally bumped into the backboard. Moose approached Bailey and cornered her onto the booth seat. She fell down on the lather cushion.

"Moose, what do you think you're going to do?"

"I'm gonna show you who you should be with."

Moose leaned over Bailey's body and moved his head toward hers. Bailey tried to move away but Moose grabbed onto her arms. Just before Moose could make another move, a wolf popped into the entrance and loudly growled. Moose stopped what he was about to do and turned his head toward the wolf.

"What in tarnations!?"

Moose immediately got off Bailey and stood up from the booth. Bailey sat up and gazed at the wolf. She waited what Cody would do. Moose and Cody had a stare down. Cody growled at Moose. He was so angry at that he forced himself on Bailey. With all his rage and might, Cody lunged toward Moose and clawed his arms. Moose tried to push Cody off of him but he failed. Cody bit Moose's thick neck and blood profusely poured onto the floor. Moose yelled and squirmed under Cody's grasp but he could not escape. Bailey was considering what she should do. On one hand, she truly wanted Moose to learn his lesson but on the other hand, she would feel terrible is she didn't do something to spare his life. Bailey stood up from the booth and stepped up to Cody and Moose. Cody got bored of biting Moose's neck and began to gnaw on his left arm. Moose screamed in pain. Bailey was about to call Cody's name but remembered that no one else knew that he was a werewolf. Bailey whistled at Cody hoping that he pay attention to her and stop hurting Moose. Bailey took another step and Cody tore off Moose's left arm. Moose screamed in pure pain. Bailey finally yanked on one of Cody's ears. He turned around to face Bailey. He still had the arm in between his fangs.

"Stop what you're doing."

Cody's ears went down. Bailey went back to the booth and scooped up some ice cream from the malt. She ate the scoop and looked at Cody.

"If you behave yourself then I'll give you some malt. You can lick from my hand."

Cody whimpered but stayed where he was.

"Drop the arm, now."

Cody dropped Moose's arm and came over to Bailey. He hopped up on the booth next to Bailey. He lolled his tongue. Bailey scooped a part of the malt onto her right index finger and put it up in front of Cody's wolf face. He licked her finger clean and then licked her palm. All the while, Moose was bleeding to death and moaning and a red light kept on blinking on Cody's shock collar and tracking bracelet. Bailey didn't notice the flashing lights as she enjoyed the feeling of Cody's tongue on her palm. She felt that she was living another version of the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast how two characters have a complicated relationship who fall in love. She and Cody were the 'beauty' and 'beast'. Bailey especially felt like she was Belle from Jean Cocteau's 1946 film. She recalled when Belle allowed the Beast to drink from her hand which reminded her of how she was oddly turned on by Cody's wolf tongue running up and down her palm. Bailey snapped out of her daze and drew back her hand. She then petted Cody's head for about six seconds. Bailey sternly looked at Cody.

"Now, will you promise to take care of issues like the one that happened with Moose better?"

Cody just stared at Bailey.

"Do you know to not tear people's arms off just before you find them a threat?"

Cody lowered his head and whimpered.

"Cody? Will you not do that again?"

Cody looked up at Bailey but still whimpered.

"Will you at least try to control yourself and not tear off arms and bite necks?"

Cody rubbed his head against side. She stroked his head in response.

"Oh, Cody. It's okay, but don't do that again if you can help it. I'm actually surprised that you could change into a wolf. What happened?"

Cody looked at Bailey funny.

"You're right. That was a stupid question."

Bailey lifted Cody's head up and rubbed his ears with her fingers and thumbs. As she did this, Bailey sincerely looked into Cody's yellow green eyes.

"Cody, I'm not going to let any other guy get near me. My only focus is helping you. But Cody if you want to confess something to me, I'd really appreciate it a lot if you told me. That means that you have turn human again. So, will you go back to the bathroom and change? Please?"

Cody happily lolled his tongue and hopped down from the booth. However, as soon as Cody stepped into Moose's blood, two police officers barged through the entrance and shot tranquilizer at Cody. He got hit right in the chest. Bailey was caught off guard as much as Cody was. She wasn't expecting Cody being tranquilized. The police officers walked up to Cody and grabbed him by his collar. They saw Moose lying on the floor in his own blood and then saw Bailey sitting in the booth with a shocked expression on her face. One of the officers stepped up to Bailey.

"Are you okay, Miss?"

Bailey's mouth was agape. She was completely shocked. The other officer made sure that everything would be fine.

"Miss, did you retain this beast? Because, if you did, then thank you or else we wouldn't be able to get a hold on him if he stay in a general area. It took us quite a while to track him back luckily, the wolf stayed in this town."

"But—"

"Oh, no need to explain, Miss. Could we return the favor? Could we pay for your little treat?"

"Um, that's not necessary."

"Oh, please. Let us pay for your malt."

Before Bailey could reject the other officer's offer, he gave her money to pay for the bill. Then he smiled at her and returned to his partner.

"Come on, Jacob, let's take this wolf back to the lab and take care of the bleeding boy."

"Sure, Kyle."

The police officer named Kyle took care of Moose and Jacob took care of Cody. Before they were completely out of sight with a van, Bailey went after them.

"Please, stop!"

Kyle turned around.

"Yes, Miss?"

"What will you do with the wolf?"

"We'll let the scientists test on it and if there's nothing to be done then we'll kill the wolf."

"And what do you mean by 'the lab'?"

"We're going back to Boston. It's going to a long trip, but it'll be worth it."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, we do."

Kyle turned away from Bailey and ignored her the rest of the way to the police car and the van. Bailey tried to think of something to say but she was speechless. Bailey leaned against the door frame. Mr. Becton came back from the back room.

"Bailey, where's your friend?"

"He had a bad stomach ache so he had to leave early."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. He seemed like a nice boy."

Bailey stared into the nothingness and sighed. "Yeah…He was."

"Do you want me to give you a bill?"

"Yeah. That would be best."

"Okay."

Bailey walked back to the booth like she stuck in a trench. She sat down and slumped down in her spot. She placed her right hand on her forehead as she dropped her head in despair. Moments later, Mr. Becton came back to the booth with a check. Bailey threw down the money that the police officer gave her and said goodbye to Mr. Becton. Her journey back to her home and family farm would seem longer than it really was.

To Be Continued…


	14. Can't Be Tamed

Bailey left a trail of footsteps and tears behind her as she walked back home. She got home at four forty three. When she got inside the house, Eunice greeted her with a wide smile and perky voice. Bailey mumbled back. Eunice stopped Bailey before she could go anywhere else.

"Bailey, honey, what's wrong?"

Bailey lifted her head up.

"Mama, I don't feel so well. Could I just go to my room and do my homework?"

"Why?"

"Cody won't be able to stay with us."

"Oh. Why not?"

"He had to go back home."

"Oh, that's a shame. I mean, it's good that he's going back to his family, but I was hoping that he could lend a helping hand."

"Yeah, I do too."

"Bailey."

"Yes, mama?"

"I know that you may not be feeling very well, but could you do a few chores before dinner will be ready?"

"Like what?"

"Well, you could collect eggs, sweep the porch, wake up Grammy Pickett from her nap and help set the table. Could you do at least that?"

"Yes."

"Good. Aside from those four chores, all you have to do is your homework. Before you go to bed, do you want me to fix you a cup of tea?"

"Oh, sure. That would be nice, mama."

"Okay, Bailey. Get along with your chores and then you can do your homework."

"Okay, mama."

Eunice patted Bailey on the shoulder and then went outside. Bailey turned on her heels and followed her mom to the outside. She grabbed a basket and went in the chicken coop. She gathered eggs and then placed them in a carton before she had refrigerated them. Afterwards, Bailey had placed the basket back where it belonged and got a broom and swept the front porch until it was clear of dust and dirt. She had put back the broom before she went back outside to wake up Grammy Pickett from her nap. Once Bailey woke up her grandmother, she headed inside the house to set the table for dinner. Once the table was set, Bailey went straight up to her room and did her homework. She stayed in her room until she was called to come to dinner. The family was having chicken pot pie with lemonade. Chicken pot pie was Bailey's favorite food and she did appreciate a good glass of lemonade, but Bailey was not in the mood. She ate and drank like it was a requirement just the same how homework is a requirement for school. Eunice looked over at Bailey during dinner and seemed very worried. She wondered what was eating on the inside of her sweet Bailey. Even Ashley was concerned about Bailey. Despite the fact that she was waiting for her aunt and uncle to come, Ashley felt less pitiful. But she did feel bad for Bailey for whatever was bothering her.

After dinner, Bailey helped clean up the table like a drone. She felt that her heart had been yanked out of her chest and discarded in the trash bin waiting be picked up by the garbage man. As soon as Bailey had cleaned the dining room table, she returned to her bedroom. Before she went up the staircase, she remembered that she was partially responsible for Ashley. She quickly asked the little girl if she needed anything and she just shook her head. Bailey told Ashley that if she ever needed anything that she could come to her. Ashley nodded her head and then watched Bailey give a sad smile and then go to her bedroom. Eunice walked over to Ashley.

"Ashley, why don't you find Diane, Lila and Suzy? I'm sure they'll be happy to play with you."

"Okay, Mrs. Pickett."

"Good girl."

Eunice patted Ashley on the shoulder. Ashley went off to find Bailey's three younger sisters. Eunice then went up the stairs and headed straight for Bailey's bedroom. She knocked on the door.

"Bailey?'

Shuffling could be heard from the other side. Eunice knocked again.

"Bailey?"

The door opened and Eunice saw fresh tears on Bailey's cheeks. Bailey shuffled back to her bed and huddled up in the covers. Eunice carefully joined her daughter on the bed.

"Bailey, what's wrong? What happened at the malt shop?"

"Well, Cody and I were sharing a malt when Moose came in."

"Oh, no. That must have been terribly uncomfortable for all of you guys."

"Not exactly, mama. Moose doesn't think much of Cody. He just thinks he's scrawny."

"Well, maybe Cody is on the skinny side but if Moose was will to give Cody a chance they would be good friends. Did the two boys fight?"

"No. When Moose came, Cody excused himself to use the bathroom because he wasn't feeling well. So, Moose talked to me for a while. After a few minutes, the wolf came rushing in and attacked Moose. The wolf tore off one of Moose's arms."

"Oh no! Will Moose be okay?"

"I don't know. Some police officers came by and took care of Moose and the wolf."

"Oh, that's good to hear. So, is Moose in the hospital?"

"I think so."

"What do you think will happen to the demon wolf? Do you think that he'll be put down?"

Bailey's breathe hitched in her throat. She wanted to say something but she didn't want make matters worse.

"It might be put down. I'm not sure."

"So, did Cody ever come back from using the restroom while all this happened?"

"He came back out once the wolf and Moose and taken away. Seeing the blood on the floor was his sign to leave. He decided that it was best if he went back home."

"Oh, how awful."

"I know…"

"Well, maybe there's a bright side to all of this. The wolf will be gone, we still have our health, Moose will be okay and Ashley Tibbles will have a second shot at happiness."

Bailey grumbled. Eunice smiled at her daughter because she wanted to give her hope.

"You'll see, Bailey, we'll get to move on with our lives and everything will get better. Now you rest up and I'll be back to give you a cup of tea. But, remember, you still got to tuck Ashley in and read to her before she goes to sleep."

"Yes, mama."

"I'm proud of you, Bailey. You turned out to be such a kind, understanding, and beautiful young woman. You turned out to be quite a trooper through this whole ordeal. You remember that, Bailey."

"I will, mama."

Eunice kisses Bailey on the forehead and then leaves the room. She closes the door behind her as she leaves. Once the door is closed, Bailey lets the water works go into full force. Bailey pounded on her sheets and silently screamed. She couldn't take the pressure anymore. She couldn't stand the fact that she may never see Cody again and that he was being blamed for all the bad things that have happened even though he can't control himself. Everyone in town hates him even they don't know that he's at fault. She cursed everyone who hated him in his wolf form and if she ever had the chance, she would make sure to give Zack a lesson he would never forget. Bailey felt so angry toward Zack even though she had never met him. She was so frustrated with life. How could a nice and sweet guy like Cody suffer the consequences of a selfish and immature guy like Cody's twin brother, Zack? Cody didn't deserve anything bad that happened to him. It should have been Zack who turned into a werewolf. But then Bailey stopped for a moment. What if Zack ended up in the same position as Cody? Would Bailey still be willing to give herself to him? Bailey for a moment and then without any second thoughts, she threw up a little in her mouth. No matter who they were, Bailey realized that if a teenaged werewolf did come for her help, she would refer them to another teenaged girl who wouldn't mind having sex with him. But if Bailey felt that strongly about not giving her virginity up to any random guy even if it might saving the town, then why did she let Cody do her? Why did Bailey allow Cody to take away her virginity?

Bailey thought for a short while. Then she got bitch-slapped by life itself. Was it possible that Bailey had actually fallen in love with Cody despite the complicated relationship they shared? Was it possible that Bailey secretly wanted Cody to enter her? Bailey didn't want think about the matter any longer so she shook her head. She didn't want to think of Cody anymore. She didn't want to keep crying but she couldn't stop herself. He was all she thought of. But Bailey couldn't help herself. Cody was after all in danger and her tender heart bled for him. She was worried about him. She wanted to do something to help but she didn't know what to do or where to start. How could she help Cody at all if he was being taken back to Boston to be tested on and then killed off? Bailey trembled with fear and frustration. Tears flowed from her eyes and her blood rushed through her veins. She felt so helpless. Bailey stayed in the same position until Eunice came back and gave her a cup of tea. Bailey wiped her tears away as she took the tea from her mother.

"Thank you, mama."

"You're welcome, Bailey. Keep your head, darling."

"Okay."

Eunice left the bedroom and returned to cleaning up the kitchen. Bailey took a while to drink her tea. When it was close to turning in for the night, Bailey did what she could do to be productive and helpful. She returned the mug that had the tea in it to the kitchen sink, got Ashley to get ready for bed and got ready for bed herself. Then she said good night to her family members, tucked Ashley in, read her a story and said goodnight to her. Afterwards, Bailey got into bed and looked at the moon. She hoped that Cody would be alive but she did have her doubts. Bailey closed her eyes, prayed for Cody's safety and then fell asleep. She only dreamt of Cody that night. It was just him and her.

At midnight in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Bostonian police officers and scientists had stopped for the night at a local Motel that needed to be renovated. The police officers and scientists were snug in their beds while an unconscious Cody lay in a cold van. He woke up and looked around. He realized that he was in a van. He had no idea how far he was from Kansas, but he wasn't going to back to Boston. Not yet anyway when there was a solution. There might be a slim chance of him turning back to human for good, but it was worth a shot. He couldn't just give up now because Bailey would never let him give up. She didn't give up on him and so he can't give up on her. Cody got up and tried to push open the back doors of the van. They wouldn't budge. Cody then went to the front of the van and tried to push open the passenger and driver doors. To no avail did he succeed. Cody looked for something sharp and spotted a hammer. He picked it up with his teeth and whacked it against the window. He kept on whacking it until the glass shattered. Cody dropped the hammer and jumped through the broken window of the driver's door. He got a little cut up but escaped with his life. Once he was on the ground, he limped away into pure darkness.

To Be Continued…


	15. Unfamiliar Territory

**When I posted the previous chapter, I was busy the rest of the day (1/15). I needed a break since I had spent some time enjoying my birthday and taking a little mental break. I'm sorry that I couldn't have uploaded this chapter sooner. But at least I have it up now. Future warning: I might take another short break because this chapter was hard to write about.**

Cody ran for twenty miles until his beaten body couldn't take it any longer. His legs weren't taking any more requests. He stopped where he was and rested. As he lay still on the ground, Cody attempted to heal his wounds. He licked away the blood and hoped that his cut would close up sometime soon. Not a moment later, Cody could feel his eyes begin to feel heavy. He did have a rough day. He fell victim of fatigue and closed his eyes. What stirred in his wolf head was the image of a peculiar human girl with her innocent face and alluring body. He could dream a million pleasant dreams about her. Cody curled up in a ball and entered a realm of fantasy in his unconscious state. The world contained beautiful things, him and the intelligent farm girl, his adored Bailey.

By morning, Cody woke up feeling refreshed. He got up and stretched his limbs. He still could feel the residual pain of his injury but his body healed for most of the part. He still had a slight limp but felt much stronger. He looked out for humans and prowled along to get a sense of direction and trying to catch any scent that might help him find his way back to Kansas. So far, he was not getting any luck. He decided that he couldn't waste time or else the police officers would get him again. He ran in some direction. He didn't know where he was headed but he knew that he had to get far away from the fuzz before he lost them and could relax. Only then would he stop and try to turn human again and find out where he was. He wanted to be safe before he would proceed with a plan to get back to Bailey so he could get her help and maybe be cured of this dreadful life as a werewolf.

Cody traveled all day long until he ran into a city. He didn't know where he was, but he found some shrubbery and hid. He rested for an hour or so and then waited for night time to strike. He would have to kill someone so he could bring his strength back up and change into a human. And once he was human again, he would ask where he was and call for help by a pay phone.

Cody stayed hidden in some bushes. He waited deliberatively. He meditated for the right moment to awaken his inner killer and allowed people to pass him by. Night fall came and people wondered on the roads and sidewalks. Cody's yellow green eyes followed the decrease in pedestrians as time passed by. He didn't know it, but Cody was slowly turning into a real killer. He slowly was enjoying the feeling of the hunt, the kill. Cody watched until just a few people walking around. When it was ten at night, there was only one person on view. He was young, strong and seemed naïve. Cody waited until he was close enough and then lunged from outside of the bushes. He attacked the young man and tore his body apart. He was so fast that the boy didn't have a chance to scream. First came off the face. Then the arms and legs came off. Finally, Cody tore apart the chest. He ate and drank a copious amount of blood and flesh. When he was done, Cody licked his chops and then darted into the darkness. He found refuge under some trees and behind some bushes and laid there. Another night would pass him by.

The following day, Cody woke up and transformed into his human form. He got dressed and casually walked out of the bushes. His right leg twitched with lingering pain. His injury had not completely healed. Cody went into a drug store and bought a small pack of bandages. He left the shop and placed two bandages on his cut up leg. He walked into town and asked people around. Ten people passed him before he could get a middle aged man to stop and tell him where he was. Cody found out that he was in Louisville, Kentucky. Cody then asked the man where he could find public transportation and the man told him that there was a train station and a bus line. Cody asked him for direction to the train station and the man told him how to get there. Cody thanked the man and went on his way to find the train station.

After fifteen minutes of walking, Cody reached the train station. He walked up to a person and asked where he could find a pay phone. They directed him where he could find one. Cody thanked the woman and went over to a pay phone. He looked through the attached Yellow Pages and worked around the listings until he could figure out how to contact the Pickett residents. He called a service line and then was patched through to the Pickett family's phone number. Cody waited for about three seconds and then the line picked up. On the other side was Eunice. He went straight to business with her and asked for Bailey. He and Mrs. Pickett talked for a while before Cody could speak with Bailey, but he finally could contact her.

Eunice had called for Bailey to come down from her bedroom. Bailey had asked why. Eunice exclaimed that Cody wanted to talk to her on the phone. As soon as Bailey heard her mom utter Cody's name, she went into shock. She couldn't believe that he was still alive. She was ecstatic on the inside. Bailey agreed to come down. Eunice held the line for Bailey until she skidded down the stairs and reached the phone. Bailey thanked her mom and then picked up where the conversation was left off.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Bailey. I need your help. I need you to find some way to meet me in New Orleans."

"Where are you?"

"I'm in Louisville, Kentucky."

"Wow. I thought you were on your way to Boston."

"The van that I was in stopped for the night at a hotel in Cincinnati, but I escaped and kept travelling Southwest-ward."

"Cody, I'm just glad that you're okay."

"I know. But you got to find some way to leave home and meet me in New Orleans by this weekend."

"Okay. What should I say? I mean, my family kind of depends on me helping on the farm until I go to college."

"Did I leave anything behind at your home?"

"Yeah."

"Then just say that you need to return some items of mine to me and also say that I need to give you a proper goodbye and that I would want to make future plans to see you again someday, possibly while in college."

"Will you?"

"Will I what?"

"Will you make plans with me?"

"Maybe. It just depends on if the curse can be lifted or not and I am depending on to give me support when I make a claim to a witch doctor that I need to be cured of the curse."

"Okay. I'll do what I can, Cody."

"Thank you, Bailey."

"What are you going to do before we meet?"

"I'm going to make one more call and find a way to keep moving."

"Okay. Um….Cody?"

"Yeah?"

"It's nice to hear from you again. I was so worried about what happened to you."

Cody bit his lip. He couldn't decide to feel happy or just relieved to hear Bailey's voice again. He chose to keep things on a platonic level. His voice was dry but it had a hint of warmth.

"I'm glad too, Bailey. It's nice hearing your voice as well."

Even though Cody couldn't see it, Bailey was smiling on the other side of the phone line.

"Thanks, Cody. That means a lot to me."

"You're welcome, Bailey. I'll see you in a few days. And give my regards to Ashley. Tell her that one of your good friends heard about what happened to her and wishes the best for her."

"I will, Cody."

"Okay. Uh….Goodbye for now, Bailey."

"Goodbye, Cody."

Cody hung up on Bailey. He had one more phone call and he had to make it count. He was running low of his own money and needed to get an emergency loan. He pulled out a few more quarters and made a very specific call. He called the front desk of the Tipton Hotel in Boston. A man picked the line after a second.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mr. Moseby."

"Cody? Is that you or am I hearing things?"

"It's me, Mr. Moseby."

"Cody! We thought you were dead. I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I'm glad to know that you're alive! Where are you?"

"I'm in Louisville, Kentucky."

"How on earth did you end up there?!"

"It's a long story, Mr. Moseby. All you need to know is that I got into a lot of trouble really fast no thanks to Zack."

"Oh…..Why does that not surprise me?"

"Anyway, Mr. Moseby, would you mind letting my mom know that I'm okay and that I plan on returning home? I got really lost when I was trying to get out of trouble."

"I understand and I will tell your mother that you're alive and well. She had been so worried about you! She's been so worried that she her performances have had a very melancholy feel to them."

"I get it, Mr. Moseby. Will you tell her?"

"Oh. Right! I'm sorry, Cody. I digress. I will tell her. But how do you plan to get back home?"

"Well, I do have one more favor to ask of you, Mr. Moseby."

"What's that?"

"You have to convince London to send me some emergency money so I can get back home. I'll need money for transportation, lodging and food and possibly some new clothing so I would say that I need at least a thousand dollars. Whatever I don't use, I'll give the rest back to her and work off the rest of the loan."

"How do you suppose that she gives you money?"

"A check."

"Where should it be sent?"

"760 West Muhammad Ali Boulevard, Louisville, Kentucky 40216."

"Okay, Cody. I'll tell London to give you a check of a thousand dollars and I'll send the check to that address. Will you be able to wait until Friday to get it?"

"Yeah. I'll manage somehow."

"Great. You know, Cody, I actually had missed you. It's not the same without you here."

"Thanks, Mr. Moseby. That means a lot to me. I would love to chat some more but I talking to you through a pay phone."

"Oh. Okay. I hope you get back to the Tipton soon, Cody."

"I hope so too, Mr. Moseby. Bye."

"Goodbye, Cody. Stay safe."

"I will."

"Okay. Bye."

Just then, Mr. Moseby hung up the phone on Cody. The line went dead. Cody hung up the pay phone and looked around his surroundings. He certainly would have to do some maneuvering around but he believed that he could manage to get along without being noticed by a lot of people. He would wait around until he got his emergency fund from London and then hop a train to meet Bailey in New Orleans. Cody softly smiled. He finally saw hope for his future. If things kept on going well for him then it might be possible for him to resume his life the way it used to be and he might be fortunate enough to go onto college where he can put his worries behind him. Cody had a long day ahead of him so he decided to roam around town.

To Be Continued…


	16. Locomotive Journey

When Friday came, Cody had at the train station where he would receive mail and looked for his check. He found a slim envelope with his name on it and opened it up. He took out the check and looked for the amount. He didn't see a thousand dollars. Rather he saw two thousand dollars. Cody chuckled to himself. Lead it to London to think that a thousand wouldn't be enough. She probably thinks that he should buy some fancy clothes while he gets back home whereas a heavy load of anything would not be necessary for survival. However, what was necessary was that while Cody waited, he had turned into a wolf and ate people to keep his strength up and slept in the shadows. He only turned into a human when he would need to get his check. Cody placed his emergency fund in his right pocket and then walked around to ask some for a pen. Once he got a pen, he signed his name on the back on the check to endorse it and returned the pen to the woman whom lent it to him. He then asked where he could find an ATM and the kind woman told him where to go.

Within a few minutes, Cody came to an ATM. At this point in time, he was glad that he had a bank account. He inserted his check into the ATM machine and withdrew a little more than half of the amount. He got at least a thousand and two hundred dollars. The machine spat out his money in one hundred dollar bills. Cody left the ATM machine as soon as he was done with his transaction and he printed out his receipt. He headed back to the train station. He was considering whether or not to get a train ticket or wait until got to Louisville. Cody made the decision to wait to get a ticket until Bailey arrived. Cody found a bench and sat down.

Back in Kettlecorn at three in the afternoon, Bailey was took out the bad that had Cody's costume items on it and had put it a water bottle with ice cold water, a book, her cell phone, some clothes and enough money to take a train to Louisville, Kentucky and to come back home. She then swung the bag over her shoulder, grabbed a light jacket and headed down the stairs to find her mom. After five minutes of searching, Bailey found her mother out in front talking with Grammy Pickett. Bailey shyly approached the two women. Bailey tapped her mom on the back.

"Mama?"

Eunice turned around and saw Bailey.

"Bailey! I'm so glad that you came out here! I actually have a chore for you."

"Actually, mama, I have an important task at hand and I only can complete if I first get your permission."

"What's that, Bailey? What's so important that you need my permission? Are you planning to go somewhere?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"I have some of Cody's belongings and he had realized that he left them behind when we talked on the phone the other day. He's in Louisville right now and he would really appreciate it if he got his stuff back before he returns home."

"Where is he from?"

"Boston."

"Oh, right."

"So, may I go on a train and meet him in Louisville? I'll do extra chores when I come back to make up for lost time. I should be back home either Saturday or Sunday depending on what else he may need. I mean, Cody might need help getting provisions when he goes back home."

"I don't know, Bailey….It might be risky."

"If this about me not helping out on the farm then I already told you that I would make up for lost time."

"I know that, Bailey. I can trust you to keep your word, but I don't feel comfortable with you traveling by yourself."

"Mama, with all due respect, I understand why you don't want me to do this, but I'm almost a legal adult and Cody needs me. Once this over then we all can move on with our lives. Cody and I would really like to keep in contact with each other. He may be the only friend I can connect with on an intellectual level. I mean, the friends I have are fine but I would like to challenge my mind once in a while that doesn't involve reading. I need someone to talk to when I can't talk to you or Diane for deep conversations and emotional support. Cody is a guy but he's different from the boys here, mama. Please, try to understand."

"Bailey, what if you get hurt?"

"I won't. I'll keep a look out. Besides, once I get to Cody, he'll protect me. Don't you trust him?"

"I do….It's just so hard for me to let you go."

"I'm going to come back home, mama. It's not I'm leaving for college. That won't happen for another nine months. I'm still going to be here before I go off to seek a higher education and get a Medical degree on the East Coast. I'll only be gone for the weekend."

Eunice could understand Bailey's logic but as a mother, it's hard for her to realize that he daughter could be an able and responsible, young adult. Eunice thought for a while before she came to a conclusion and looked straight into Bailey's eyes. She saw so much ambition and promise in her daughter's eyes. She did trust Bailey and she did trust Cody. Eunice supposed that if Bailey's cause was good enough for Bailey then it should be good enough for her. Eunice hugged her daughter and then had let her go.

"Okay, Bailey. You can go meet Cody and return his belongs to him."

Bailey's smile was wider than the sea and brighter than sunshine.

"Really, mama? I can go?"

Eunice humbly nodded her head. "Of course."

Bailey jumped for joy.

"Oh, thank you, mama! I love you so much! You won't regret this, I promise."

"But Bailey…"

Bailey settled down and pushed back a stray tendril of hair behind her left ear.

"Yes, mama?"

"If you're going to go on a train be sure that you have something to eat on the way and make sure you have enough money to get back home."

"Okay. I will."

"And if you can help yourself, whether you come back home on Saturday or Sunday, try to be back before dinner time."

"Okay, mama."

"Okay. I love you, Bailey."

Bailey hugged her mom. "I love you too, mama."

The two women broke apart from their warm embrace.

"Now go get whatever you may need for your trip. I'll get the truck ready."

"Thanks. But what about telling daddy?"

"I'll tell him later."

"Okay. Thanks, mama."

"Sure thing, Bailey."

Bailey popped into the house and grabbed two bananas and some trail mix that she placed in a zip lock bag. Then she went back out to the front porch, said goodbye to Grammy Pickett and then joined her mom in the truck. They drove all the way to the nearest train station. Then Bailey boarded a train and headed to Louisville.

After two hours and fifteen minutes on being on a train, Bailey arrived in Louisville. She got off the train and looked for Cody. After five minutes of searching, she found him sitting alone on a bench. She approached him slowly and sat down next to him.

"Hi, Cody."

Cody had been zoning out but then snapped out of his daze. He turned his head to the left and saw Bailey right next to him.

"Bailey? You're here."

"Yeah. I am. Are you ready to go to New Orleans?"

"Yes. We should get tickets now."

"Okay."

Cody and Bailey got up from the bench and headed over to purchase train tickets to New Orleans. Cody paid for both of their tickets. Bailey tried to pay for her own ticket but Cody explained to her that he owed her plenty of favors. Bailey gave in and allowed Cody to pay for her ticket. Cody got cash back and then he and Bailey waited for their train for about twenty minutes. When the train came, they boarded it. Cody and Bailey chose to sit near a window. It was going to be a long journey to New Orleans so they wanted to be as comfortable as possible.

To Be Continued….


	17. What If

**Warning: There is strong sexual content in this chapter.**

During the train ride to New Orleans, silence blanketed Cody and Bailey's body. For most of the trip, they barely spoke to each other. There was no bad blood between them, it's just that they didn't have a lot to say to each other. At one point during the ride, Bailey offered a banana to Cody and he politely declined. He claimed that he would only eat raw meat. Bailey had a feeling that Cody might come onto her later that night. She took the term 'raw meat' as a sign that she would have to sexually please Cody since it wouldn't be easy finding raw meat in a new and unfamiliar place. Bailey stared off into the window while Cody stared at her. She was used to him staring at her after a while, but she doubted that she would get used to any other guy staring at her. By seven, Bailey felt a little hungry so she took out a banana and quietly ate it. Cody looked out the window as Bailey ate. He didn't need to watch at all times. He was more focused on getting cured. He could feel his human self weakening and he wanted to be cured before it was too late. For the first two years that he was learning to be a werewolf, the experience was like his initiation, but now, things were different. He could possibly revert into a true werewolf if he didn't get help soon. He could feel his human conscious fading in the background of his brain. Cody was scared for his own well-being. He didn't want to be a werewolf but he would have to accept his fate if no one could help him. He was thankful to have Bailey with him, though. By nine, the train was just an hour and a half away from arriving in New Orleans.

At ten fifty, the train came to a complete stop. Cody and Bailey got off the train and asked a passer-by for the closest hotel. The middle aged woman told them of a nearby hotel that had good rooms, fair rates and wasn't haunted. Cody and Bailey thanked the woman and then went on their way to the hotel that they heard of. When they got there, Cody checked them in and paid for their room for the night. The clerk gave Cody the room key and told them how to get to their room. Cody led the way as they went up an elevator and then walked down a hallway on the left side. Their hotel room was 314. As soon as they got in, Cody locked the door and Bailey placed her bag on the single bed. Bailey turned to Cody.

"Should we ask for an extra bed?"

"No. That won't be necessary."

"You're probably right. I mean, we're only going to be for one night."

"Maybe two. If we enough done tomorrow then we can both move on with our lives. Once this whole ordeal is over, you can go back to your family farm and I'll go back to Boston."

"Okay, Cody. So, should we get ready for bed?"

"I'll going to go find something to eat."

"No!"

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"I know what you're thinking. I'm not letting you leave the room. I'll go and get you something to eat Cody."

"Fine."

"Okay, so just let me have some time to relax. We had a long travel and we need to loosen up a bit. I promise that you'll get to eat before we go to sleep tonight."

"Fine. What are you going to do?"

"Maybe take a shower."

"Go and take one now."

"Okay. Just stay and wait, please."

"I will."

"Good."

Bailey goes off into the bathroom and prepares a hot shower. While Bailey gets ready to take a shower in the bathroom, Cody sits down on the bed. Time passes him by like a sword through the stomach. The longer he waits, the more impatient he becomes. His frustration rises and turns into anger. He becomes angrier and angrier. His fangs and claws grow out, a tail pops out from his rear end and his eyes turn red. Cody growls and has a strong desire to kill and mate. His demonic side rears its ugly head and slowly takes over his body. Cody tries to fight himself but he can't completely turn back to human. He's stuck in an in-between stage. In his body, Cody is mostly human. But in his mind, he is mostly a killer. Cody checks the closed door and sees that it was left unlocked. Cody fashions an evil grin on his face. He watches Bailey's silhouette move about beyond the safety of the shower curtains. His red eyes follow the smallest movements of Bailey's body. He can hear her hum to herself. He strips down and with his newly acquired stealth ability, he slips inside the shower and stands behind Bailey. She is rubbing the bar of soap over her naked body and is humming. Bailey turns around and yelps in surprise as she comes face-to-face with Cody.

"Cody! What are you doing in the shower?"

"How much longer will you take before you will get some raw meat for me?"

"I've only been in the shower for five minutes."

"How long?"

"Not much longer if you leave."

Cody growled which frightened Bailey. She stepped back and leaned against the tiled wall of the shower.

"Cody, what's wrong with you?"

Cody pins Bailey to the shower wall.

"I need flesh soon, Bailey. I need blood."

"Cody, please, calm yourself. You have been doing so well so far. Please, let me finish my shower so I can get dressed and go get you some raw meat."

"Never mind that. It's too late for raw meat. I want you."

"What do you mean?"

"I want you. I want to kill you, but at the same time, I want to fuck you so bad."

"Cody?"

"I'll skip the meat. But you will have to keep me in check."

"No, Cody. You got to try. I know you can. Repress your wolf-like tendencies."

"It's too late for that, Bailey. My human side is fading because it's too damn, fucking weak! I need you to keep me in check."

"So, you're saying that…."

"I need to fuck you."

"Okay then…"

Bailey looked away from Cody and bit her bottom lip. She was unsure of how to keep Cody under control. He was becoming more violent and angry with each passing second. His human conscious was hanging on by a thread. But Bailey was grateful that Cody hadn't hurt her…yet. Bailey swallowed some courage and then looked back into Cody's blood red eyes. She saw the frown line forming under the weight of his fangs.

"Cody?"

"What?"

"Uh… if we're going to do this, then you would mind getting protection? The last thing we want is a mistake that will show over the span of nine months and people will question what went on between the two of us. They might just find out that you're a werewolf. Do you want to make things more complicated?"

"No."

"Then I suggest that you get out of the shower, get dressed and go find some condemns."

Cody scowled. He didn't feel like leaving the room when ne just got used to it. "Fine."

"Great. Will you leave now?"

Cody growled at Bailey. He dug his claws into her sides and gnawed on her neck. Bailey moaned and slowly slid down the wall. Cody brought her back up as he nibbled on her neck. Blood dropped down and ran down the shower drain. Bailey clutched onto Cody's shoulders.

"Cody…."

Cody licked away the blood on Bailey's neck. Bailey's cheeks got all red from the heat and pain.

"Uh, uh, uh. Cody…..please, go."

Cody moved his mouth away from her neck and pulled his claws out of her sides and stepped back. Then he stared at Bailey and licked left behind blood on his lips.

"Of course, Bailey. Now, I'll leave."

Cody casually stepped out of the shower and got dressed. Bailey stood still against the shower wall dumbfounded. She looked at the shower head. She walked over and turned off the shower. She got out of the shower and wrapped a white, hotel towel around her wary body and watched Cody slowly leave with an inch of curiosity lining her brain. Bailey approached Cody from behind and got a hold of his strong shoulders.

"Cody."

"Yes?"

Bailey could feel that Cody coming back. It might be a slow and painful process but she could feel the human side fighting to stick around.

"If you behave yourself, then I'll give you a treat."

Cody didn't say anything. Bailey was worried and so she felt desperate to get a response from him. She slid her hands down in his pants and rubbed his manhood. She tried her best to sound seductive.

"Cody…..If you can keep yourself under control, if you won't kill me or hurt me in any way that will draw blood then I'll give you a very pleasurable experience tonight."

Bailey then blew some air onto Cody's neck. He shivered. Cody quickly turned around which made Bailey lose grip on him. His eyes turned back to their usual blue-green state and there was fear behind his glimmering pupils. He still had his tail, fangs and claws, though.

"Bailey, what's going on?"

Bailey stepped back and held her towel up.

"Cody? Is that you? The real you? Are you really the sensitive boy again?"

"Yes."

Cody lovingly wrapped his arms around Bailey's waist.

"Bailey, I'm so scared. I'm becoming more like a bloodthirsty killer every time my body is too weak to resist a transformation. I'm just lucky that I could stay in the state that I'm in now."

"So, do you still want to go through with the plan?"

"I think it would be best if we did. I mean, I might revert back to having red eyes and being angry. We should stay on the safe side and go through with the plan."

"Okay, Cody. But before you go back out, you might to do something about…your body. You know, your claws, fangs and tail."

"I know. The claws and fangs will be easy to hide. It's the tail I'm worried about."

"You know what, Cody? Don't worry about it. It's late and it's New Orleans. I'm sure people are busy partying on Bourbon Street and going on all sorts of tours."

"At night? What kind of tours?"

"Maybe they are leaving tours."

"What kind of tours though?"

"I don't know. New Orleans is to be known to be the most haunted city in America. They probably do ghost, vampire, Voodoo and cemetery tours."

"Why does that not surprise me?"

"I don't know. Just go and get some protection."

"Okay. I'll be back. While I'm gone, get yourself ready, Bailey. You and I both won't know how I'll be when I come back so be prepared for anything."

"Okay."

"Well, I'll be back in a short while."

"I'll be waiting, Cody."

Cody awkwardly nodded his head and then left the hotel room. In the meantime, Bailey went back to the bathroom to retrieve her clothes and grabbed a robe. She sat down on the bed and looked at what she had at her disposal. Bailey considered on how she cover herself up. If Cody came back as a shy boy then she would need to appear encouraging and pick something that would get him going. If he came back angry and ready to pounce her then she would need to put on something that would be easy to take off but also be a little of a challenge. Bailey looked over at what she could wear and thought she could find something that would be a bridge between the two scenarios. Bailey dropped her towel and slipped on her underwear and then put on the robe. She placed the rest of her clothes on the ground and took the towel back to the bathroom. Bailey got back on the bed and tried different positions of how she would want Cody to see her when he got back. She wasn't having much luck finding a comfortable yet sensual pose. After some fidgeting around, Bailey found a pose she liked. She was sitting on the edge of the bed with her arms straightened out behind her and she had her legs together with a foot nicely tucked behind an ankle. At once when Cody came back inside the hotel room, he was holding a box of condemns and he locked the door. He looked over at Bailey and seemed indifferent. He approached her while his wolf tail swung behind him. His brandished his fangs as he gave Bailey a wicked smile. He didn't have claws and his eyes weren't red nor were they yellow-green. They were in their normal state. Cody threw down the box of condemns on the bed and took off his shirt. Bailey watched Cody as he took off his shirt and then leaned over and kissed her. He pushed his tongue out and Bailey opened up her mouth. Cody took her invitation and pushed his tongue inside her mouth.

As Cody and Bailey kissed, Cody gently pushed his body against Bailey's which caused both of them to fall onto the bed. Cody slid his hands underneath Bailey's robe and pushed it off. His hands roamed to her breasts and rubbed the succulent mounds of skin and teased the soft nipples with his nimble thumbs. Bailey ran her fingers through Cody's hair and then had her fingers travel down his spine. Cody bit Bailey's bottom lip then nibbled her neck. Bailey's hands found their way to Cody's belt and took it off. Cody kicked off his shoes and socks and slid his hand up and down the rest of Bailey's body. He angrily took off her robe and broke the skin of her breasts with his fangs. Cody suckled Bailey's breasts and stuck his hands down her underwear messaging her hot woman hood. Bailey moaned and Cody jumped for joy on the inside. Cody kept petting Bailey's pussy cat because he liked where his hands were and he got turned on by the sound of Bailey's moans.

While Cody got his hands wet and hot from playing around with Bailey's sweet spot, Bailey tore off Cody's pants and boxers. She, too, got into the swing of things and played with Cody's penis. He moaned loudly. Bailey rubbed his stick faster and faster to keep making Cody moaning. He soon lost hold of her body and rolled over on his back. Bailey squeezed his engorged manhood and teased the swollen tip. She finally pick up some new courage and straddled Cody. Bailey hovered over him and stared at him. His tail popped up and came around and tickled Bailey's back.

"Cody, stop swinging your tail."

"I can't really do anything."

"Well, I have a question for you."

"What's that?"

"Are you ready to move on?"

"No."

"No?"

Cody grinned and then slammed Bailey down on the bed pinning her down.

"I'm not done teasing your pussy."

"Cody?"

Cody moved his body down until his head was leveled with Bailey's vagina. He stuck out his tongue and licked her. Bailey grabbed fistfuls of bed sheets and moaned with pleasure. Cody ate out Bailey like there was no tomorrow. Once and a while he would stroke her inner thighs while eating her out and sometimes he would alternate between using his tongue and using two fingers to tease Bailey's clitoris. The faster he teases her hot spot, the louder Bailey moans. Her body goes into violent convulsions and her back arches up. Cody still has a firm hold of Bailey's body even when sweat is an undeniable factor in their sexual activity. Bailey begs Cody to give her a break but he doesn't do anything to fulfill her request yet goes on and teases her sweet spot with his tongue. Bailey's breasts swell up and get hot and her vagina throbs and gets all wet and hot. Bailey grabs onto Cody's head as he continues to lick her.

"Oh, oh, oh! Uh…..Cody. Please. Uh, uh, uh, uh…Oh please. Yes, yes, yes…!"

Cody ran his tongue up Bailey's body and then hovered over her.

"Are you ready?"

Bailey got a little bold and yanked on Cody's penis.

"Shove your cock in my pussy."

"I'm surprised at you, Bailey."

"Just fuck while we still have time."

"Where did this come from?"

"You rubbed off of me….a lot. Now just ram your enlarged dick in my pussy and fuck me until we both explode with a metric butt load of cum."

"Ooh. The farmer's daughter just got dirty and wants to roll around in the hay."

"Just do me, Cody."

"Okay."

Bailey grabs the box of condemns and give it to Cody. He opens the box and pulled out a condemn. He opens up the foil square and puts on the condemn. He positions himself.

"Ready for this?"

Bailey spreads her legs out and bends her knees.

"Yes."

Cody slides his penis inside of Bailey's vagina and quickly pumps in and out of her. Bailey moans loud with pleasure. The harder and faster Cody pumps, the louder Bailey gets. They come to a point where Cody is relentless and keeps up the momentum. Bailey gets so hot and bothered that she squeezes and plays with her own breasts and twists her stiff nipples. She grinds her fit rear end into the bed as Cody continues to pump inside of her. The two of them go faster and their bodies grow hotter. Sweat drip down their bodies and stains the bed sheets. The bed rocks up and down. When they get to the point of exploding, Cody abruptly pulls out of Bailey and both of them cum at the same time greatly staining the bed. Cody rips off the condemn and collapses on the bed next to Bailey. He throws away the sticky condemn and wraps his arms around Bailey's tired, naked body. He encases one of her breasts in his mouth and licks the skin. Bailey catches her breath as Cody suckles and fondles her chest. After Cody had enough time to give equal attention to her breasts for fondling and sucking, Bailey gently pushes Cody's head away from her chest. He reaches down and keeps his right hand over Bailey's vagina. Occasionally, he strokes her womanhood.

"Bailey, how do you feel?"

"You're petting me."

"I know. Do you want me to stop?"

"No. As long you don't claw me down there."

"Alright."

"Thank you."

"Whatever."

"Are you mad at me, Bailey?"

"No."

"Then what the comment for?"

"I was being casual. Will you promise to not kill anybody tonight?"

"Yes."

"Okay. That's good."

Cody pulled his hand away and grabbed onto Bailey's hips and turned her over.

"What do you want, Cody?"

"I just want to see your face."

Bailey wrapped her arms around Cody's body.

"What are you trying to tell me, Cody?"

"Nothing. I just want to savor the moment before I may have to forever turn into a werewolf."

"Cody, you're not going to turn into a werewolf. I promise that you will be cured of your curse."

Bailey then reached and kissed Cody on the forehead.

"I won't let you give up."

"Thank you so much, Bailey."

"Sure thing, Cody."

Silence fell onto Cody and Bailey. They were unusually quiet. Cody then thought of something.

"Bailey?"

"Yes?"

"If everything turns out just fine and we go our separate ways and I find a way to graduate from high school and go off to college, will you wait for me to tell you what my plans are?"

"Cody, what are you really trying to say?"

"I was just wondering if we try to coordinate to go to the same university."

"You mean, you want to go to college with me?"

"Maybe."

Bailey lightly laughed. "Anything else?"

"Not really. I don't want to think too ahead of the future. I'll wait until it's June."

"Why can't you just ask me now?"

"If I am cured and life goes back to normal and we end up at the same university, I was wondering if we could hang out like two normal young adults."

"Like help each other study?"

"That and maybe go have some dinner together and talk."

"Like a date? Are you officially asking me to be your girlfriend?"

Cody suddenly got very quiet. Bailey had a wide smile on her face.

"It's not 'if', it's 'when'. And when we do see each other while pursuing a high education, I would like to officially go out on a date with you."

"What are you trying to say?"

Bailey cups Cody's cheeks and brings him into a long and passionate kiss. Cody pulled Bailey close to him and melted into the kiss. After several seconds, Cody and Bailey pull away. Bailey rested her forehead against Cody's and stared into his eyes. Cody smiled at Bailey and he didn't have any fangs. But his tail was wagging.

"I'd like us to be an official couple once this is all over, Cody. That is what I was trying to say."

"Oh. Are you sure?"

"I couldn't be more sure in my life. But when we see each other again, I hope that we have a nice first, official date."

"Would it be okay if I brought flowers to you?"

"Either red roses or Irises."

"Why Irises?"

"They're my favorite flowers."

"Oh. I'll keep that in mind."

"You can bring roses if you forget."

"I won't forget."

"Okay…"

"Do you want to rest now? We have a busy day ahead of us."

"That would be great."

Cody reaches over and pulls the sheets over him and Bailey and then cuddles close to her. Bailey reaches over and turns off the light on the bedside.

To Be Continued…


	18. Key To A Door

Early in the morning, Cody woke up and the first thing he saw was Bailey's face. He took a moment or two to remember where they were: a decent hotel in New Orleans. It was Saturday. Cody watched Bailey sleep and pulled her unconscious body closer to him underneath the warmth and safety of the bed sheets. He kissed her forehead, nose, cheeks and her eyes. He then kissed her shoulders, collar bone and her neck. Bailey stirred and happily mumbled something while she kept on dreaming. Cody lightly nibbled on Bailey's earlobes. Bailey opened up her eyes.

"Cody, what are you doing?"

"I was trying to wake you up in a nice way."

"Thank you. Were you kissing me?"

"Yes."

"Did you miss a spot?"

"Maybe."

"Then get it."

Cody leans in and kisses Bailey on the lips. She brings her arms around his neck and holds onto his head, lightly pulling onto his golden locks. The two of them part from the kiss once they realize that they need to get out of bed and head out. Cody didn't want to break the lip lock but Bailey had the mind to stop it. She gently pushed him away.

"We need to get ready. You need to be cured."

"You're right."

Bailey reached down and felt around Cody's well-toned rear end.

"Bailey, what are you doing?"

Bailey couldn't feel any fur protruding from Cody's butt.

"I was just checking if your tail was still around. It seems to me that your tail went away."

"Really? Or do you think that I have what girls would say 'a cute ass'?"

"That too but I was focusing on your tail, you goof."

Bailey then playfully slaps Cody's rear end and gets out of bed. She reaches down and gets out some fresh clothing. As she dresses, Cody watches her grinning.

"Is it a good thing to have an attractive body?"

"Not really. Although, it could be considered as icing on the cake."

"So, Bailey, what do you want in a guy or do I have chance to be your guy if I am a normal guy? What do you look for in a guy? Just out of curiosity."

Bailey ignores Cody's inquiry and finishes changing. She then packs up her bag before she stands up and faces Cody.

"Come on, Cody. Get out of bed, wolf boy."

Cody grunted.

"Cody, I know you behaved yourself the best you could and I gave you a treat, but now you have to keep on behaving yourself."

Cody grunted again but then hopped out of bed and got dressed, quickly. As he pulled up his boxers and pants, he cleared his voice.

"Bailey, you didn't answer my question."

"Why do you care? You should focus on being a full human again."

"I know. I just thought that I would think of possible outcomes for my future and I was hoping if we made an effort that you would be part of my future."

"We can worry about that later, Cody. Besides, why are you so interested in knowing what we'll do later, now?"

Cody threw on his black t-shirt, socks and shoes. Now, it was his turn to ignore Bailey's questioning.

"Let's just get out of here. You can go back to your family farm after all of this and I won't bother you any more if you want that."

"Cody? What's wrong with you today?"

"Nothing's wrong with me. Come on, Bailey, we're burning day light."

Cody walked over to the door and opened it. Bailey slung her bag over her shoulders and followed Cody out of the hotel room. They went down to the lobby and left the hotel. They looked around until they found a voodoo shop. They went inside and asked the shop keeper of any reports of residents using voodoo spells. The man asked what their situation was and Cody told him that he was put under a curse by mistake and was turned into a werewolf. The man considered the situation and thought of people he knew who might know how to help Cody. He gave Cody and Bailey directions to three possible shop keepers who knew about voodoo spells and charms better than he knew them. Once they got their information, Cody and Bailey thanked the man and then left his shop. The two of them went to the first two locations that the man told them to go to, but luck did not follow them. They tried the third shop in the heart of the French Quarter and looked around for the shop keeper. After a short period of searching, Cody and Bailey stumbled upon an elderly woman. She had patches of white and gray hair blending with red in a neat braid covered with a blue and purple head scarf. Crow's feet were forming near her stormy eyes. She stood at five feet and three inches and wore glasses and a short sleeved purple dress with brown sandals. The elderly woman smiled at Cody and Bailey as she walked behind the counter.

"Hello, you two. What may I do for you?"

Cody approached the counter with determination heavy in the three steps that it took to come closer to the old woman.

"I need help."

"What sort of help?"

"I was unfortunately cursed to be a werewolf. I barely have maintained my human conscious the more frequently that I turn into a wolf."

"What do you fear most of becoming a full-fledged werewolf?"

"Forgetting about the people that I care about, killing and eating innocent people and not being able to go back to my old life and pursue a higher education and make myself useful in society."

"Ah, I see. Those topics are very much worth worrying about, especially for a young man like you who has so much promise ahead of your future. Who are the people that you care about most in this world?"

Cody briefly looked back to Bailey before he gave the elderly woman an answer.

"I care about my parents, my good friends and even my screw up of a twin brother."

"You resent your brother."

"Yes."

:"I know. I sense that he's the reason why you're here today in front of me."

"Yes."

"But you still love him."

"Unfortunately, yes."

"You are a good brother to him. You will receive the rewards that you deserve in good time. Some may come sooner than others."

"So, can you help me lift the curse?"

"Yes. But you must tell me the whole truth of who you dearly care about. I know that you held back because you are shy."  
Cody mumbled.

"Don't be shy even if she is behind you. Those who are the most honest with themselves and with others will find great joy and fortune in their lives. Now, tell me boy. Did you leave out any names?"

"I left out one name."

"Good, good. Say their name."

Cody turned around to face Bailey.

"Bailey."

Bailey snapped her head up and looked at Cody.

"Yeah?"

The elderly woman laughed and pushed her glasses up. "Bailey."

Bailey looked at Cody and the old woman with a confused look on her face.

"Boy, you may turn back around."

Cody turned back around.

"I'm sorry, but I'm confused. Why did you two say my name?"

The elderly woman smiled at Bailey.

"Young lady, did you not hear clearly? The young man in front of you included you as one of few people that holds dear to his heart."

Bailey gawked at Cody. She was happy and confused that he respected her and cared about her. She never was very clear on how he truly felt about her but now she knew. Cody pretended not to notice Bailey's penetrating stare on him and focused on the elderly woman.

"So, now can you help me?"

"Yes. Come with me."

The elderly woman walks away from behind the counter and walks into a room where there are potions and spells and candles in an array of different colors, shapes and sizes. She sat down at a round table and Cody sat down across from her. The elderly woman then pulled up a stool off to the side for Bailey sit down in. Bailey sat down and thanked the elderly woman. The elderly woman proceeded to light a few candles and then looked at Cody.

"Now, give me your hands."

Cody did as he was told.

"By the way, why did you need to know who I care about most in this world?"

"I can tell if you've been cursed if you open up your heart to me and that means exposing your true feelings about people in your life to me. I need a good reading on who you are as a person."

"Okay."

The elderly woman took Cody's firm hands in her soft and wrinkled ones and closed her eyes. She hummed for two minutes and then opened her eyes. She stared straight in Cody's eyes.

"You still have a chance to be free of this curse."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"What has to be done?"

"I'll tell you in a second."

The woman then looked over at Bailey.

"Bailey, come here and put your hands over ours."

Bailey came over to the table and placed her hands over the elder woman's and Cody's.

"Good. Now let me feel the two of yours energy."

The elderly woman closed her eyes again and waited for a moment before her eyes opened again. She looked between Cody and Bailey.

"You two have a special bond. You two have gone through a very trying journey to come here but both of you are determined to lift the curse. I know what I must do now."

The elderly woman pulled her hands away from Cody and Bailey and made some potion. In the meantime, Cody and Bailey waited not realizing that they were still holding hands over the table.

Once the elderly woman had the potion ready, she poured it into two individual bottles. She then returned to the table and gave Cody and Bailey a bottle.

"You two need to drink the potion at the same time. But before you drink the potion, you have to share a kiss with each other signifying your special bond with another. Once you two have done that, think of one thing that you can't live without and then drink the potion. If the potion works, then the curse will be lifted."

Bailey looked at the elderly woman.

"How will we know if Cody is no longer a werewolf?"

"Bailey, you must stay with Cody and watch over him once you leave my shop. Look out for certain sign. Will he want raw meat? Will he want to eat human flesh? Will he becomes aggressive and have fangs and claws? If he shows no signs of being a werewolf then he is cured. If that will be the case then you don't have to come back to me. Only come back to me the next day if the curse hasn't lifted yet."

"Okay. But how will our special bond help break the curse."

"It's because only a person who is capable of giving a receiving love deserves to have their livelihood as a human restored because humans are sensitive and loving beings. If he is not capable of being love and loving others then Cody is befitting of remaining as a monster or, in this case, a werewolf. It's as simple as that."

"Oh. That makes sense."

"Now give each other a kiss like you mean it, think of something you can't live without and then drink the potion."

"Alright."

Cody and Bailey lean in. They're about to kiss but then Cody drew back and turned toward the elderly woman.

"Why do we need to kiss?"

"To prove yourself of being a true human, you must exhibit two things: passion and compassion."

"Oh…"

"Now kiss."

"Alright."

Cody sets down his bottle for the moment and quickly pulls Bailey body to his for a passionate kiss. She melts in the kiss and closes her eyes. Cody tilts his head to the side to deepen it and keeps a firm grip on Bailey's waist. After a minute, Cody pulls away to break the kiss. Bailey steps back. Cody picks up his bottle.

"Now think of something that you can't live without and then drink. And remember, you two have to drink the whole potion."

Cody and Bailey both think of something or someone that they can't live without. When they have thought of something, they drink their potions at the same time. As soon as they have drank every last drop of the purple liquid that tasted of lavender and thyme, Cody and Bailey placed the bottles on the table. Cody looked at the elderly woman.

"Now what?"

"You wait. You may want to say in the city for the night to let the potion take its full effect. Don't be alarmed if you still have wolf tendencies. The potion will take at least eight hours to affect both your bodies."

"Why both of our bodies?"

"Because you two drank the potion which makes you two connected. During the time that you two wait for the potion to work, you two may as well bond with each other and learn to be patient. You have to see through with your commitment of the ritual or else the curse won't be lifted. You two can't just show me that there is passion and compassion in both of your souls for a short period of time, you two have to keep on exhibiting passion and compassion. Behave like two normal humans with understanding and love in your hearts and passion in your souls. Every moment counts while you two wait to let the potion set in."

"Okay."

"Bailey."

:"Yes, ma'am?"

"If you see Cody becoming aggressive toward you or has the urge to eat some raw meat or human flesh before the eight hours are over, do your best to keep him in check."

"I will."

"Good."

Cody stepped closer to the elderly woman.

"What do we do now? Do we owe you anything?"

"That won't be necessary. I'm just glad to help you."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive."

"Ma'am?"

"Yes?"

"What do you suppose I should do about my shock collar and tracking bracelet?"

Cody showed the elderly woman his collar and bracelet. She examined them for a moment or two.

"For the collar, I would suggest that you get bolt cutters and for the bracelet, just get a screwdriver to undo the screws and you should be free."

"Okay. Thank you, ma'am."

"You're welcome. Good luck, you two."

Cody waved goodbye to the elderly woman and so did Bailey. For the rest of the day, the two young adults would spend time together until the potion would settle in.

To Be Continued…


	19. What Everything Boils Down To

Cody and Bailey spent the rest of the day finding bolt cutters, a screw driver and browse through shops and soak up the culture of the Big Easy or as the locals would sometimes call it, Nawlins or Nola. For anyone who was in New Orleans, they would know that they had to eat Cajun food and maybe go on a tour or two. The best way to let New Orleans get inside of your soul was to visit voodoo shops, vampire boutiques, take a swamp tour or any night tour that included the subjects of vampires, ghosts, and cemeteries. And no one's visit to the Jazz capital of the country and possibly the world unless you could hear Jazz music from every corner and crack of the French Quarter and eat po-boys, gator meat, fried green tomatoes, beignets, pecan pralines, gumbo, jambalaya, and catfish. But as an extra experience, people may want to visit a fortune teller or go buy a mask and some beads. If visitors didn't do anything while during their stay then it would be a real shame because the city of New Orleans has more parties and festivals then there are days in a year. Fortunately for Cody and Bailey, they did the best they could to get the vibe of New Orleans.

In the afternoon, Cody and bailey had stopped by Johnny's Po Boy's shop for lunch. They had to wait for about twenty minutes just make their orders since it was a popular sandwich place. When they got their po-boys, they got a spot at a counter with bar stools and got their sodas. Cody and Bailey both added a dash of hot sauce after their first bite. The po-boys were good by themselves but it didn't hurt to have a little kick to them. Cody happily ate his catfish po-boy while Bailey savored her shrimp po-boy. When they were done with a satisfying lunch, they walked around and ended up in a vampire boutique.

Cody browsed in the back and saw a painting of a vampire sucking blood from his lover/victim. The vampire was sucking the blood from a woman who was naked but the viewer could only see her back and she sat on the vampire's naked lap. It seemed to Cody that the woman in the painting seemed to have been exhibiting two varying emotions at the same time: love and obligation. Cody thought that maybe that's how Bailey felt about him being a werewolf. She must have felt obligated to please him so her neighbor's lives could be speared, but at the same she might have been aroused by his werewolf characteristics and felt attraction toward him. Maybe that is where the love would have come in. Cody instinctively turned his head toward the front of the small store and saw Bailey talking a man who he guessed was the own. The man was not much older than he and Bailey. He must have been at least in his early twenties. Cody watched the man talk with Bailey. It seemed harmless enough. It was clear to Cody that Bailey was asking about the items in the boutique and the owner seemed to be answering her questions….somewhat. He appeared to be leaning close to her. Was he coming onto her? Did she notice? Cody shook his head. Of course Bailey wouldn't notice subtle hints of flirtation because she's trusting of everyone she meets. But the owner was getting a little close for comfort to Bailey. Cody gripped onto the nearest object and squeezed his fist around it. His blood was boiling as strange man was preying on Bailey. He bared his teeth and began to huff. His eyes weren't red but he saw the color of blood. Cody's knuckles were turning white and he bit his lip hard. Cody remembered about the potion and settled down for the most part. He then walked over to Bailey as calm as possible and came in the way of the man and her. Bailey was looking at a snow globe with a head stone and bat in it and then turned to Cody.

"Look, Cody! It's a snow globe with a headstone and a bat. I love snow globes, you know."

Cody glanced over at the owner and kept his eyes on him. He then protectively wrapped an arm around Bailey's shoulder and leaned over to see the snow globe.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I have one back at home that has a twister in it with a truck and cow flying over the house. It's so cute and funny."

"That's nice."

"Do you think I should get it?"  
"That's up to you."

"Maybe not. I'm sure I'll run into other snow globes. Besides, cemetery stuff isn't really my thing. But I do want a souvenir to remind myself of our time together here."

"Then tell me what you want when we go somewhere and I'll get for you. That way, it'll be extra special because then you'll know that I got it for you."

"Are you sure, Cody?"

"I'm sure. Now, may we go somewhere else? Suddenly, I'm beginning to feel all depressed being in here."

"Sure thing, Cody. I wouldn't want make you stay in a place you didn't like. I'm starting to get a weird vibe myself. We can somewhere else. Plus, we need to find you some bolt cutters and a screw driver."

"Thank you."

Cody slides his hand down from Bailey's shoulder to her waist as they exit the boutique. He glances back at the owner who is scowling and Cody smirks at him. He turns his head back toward Bailey and walks down the sidewalk

As they walk down the streets of the French Quarter, Cody and Bailey look out for a hardware store. They stumble upon one in a small corner and go inside. To their luck, Cody and Bailey find both bolt cutter and a few screwdrivers in a short amount of time. Cody pays for the items and then he and Bailey leave the store. Afterwards, they spend some extra time seeing the sights and listening to Jazz music wherever they go. And if it's not Jazz music, then it's Country and Gospel music. Cody and Bailey did a tour and snacked on Pecan Pralines. At some point during the day, they found a souvenir shop in the French Quarter and Cody got Bailey a beaded necklace. Bailey secretly got Cody a New Orleans t-shirt. When they left the shop, they got an early dinner at Hard Rock Café. Afterwards, they had an after-dinner treat of iced café au laits and an order of three beignets at the replica Café Du Monde. Cody and Bailey each had a whole beignet and shared the third one. When they were done, Bailey noticed that Cody had some powder stuck to the right upper corner of his mouth. She giggled at him and then wiped off the powder with a brown napkin from a dispenser that had the menu stuck on its sides. Cody thanked Bailey and left the café with their iced café au laits in hand and walked back to the hotel. On their way back to the hotel, they walked past by a deli and fresh meat was in the display window. Cody caught of the sight of meat and stared at it for some time. Bailey wondered if the potion was wearing off. She knew that she had to look out for certain signs and this one of those moments. Bailey turned Cody's head away from the display window and he forgot about the meat.

"You don't want the meat, Cody. Do you?"

"No. Thank for pulling me in."

"Sure thing. I think that the curse will be lifted as long as I keep a close on you."  
"Shouldn't have the potion gone into full effect by now?"

"I don't know. What time is it?"

Bailey pulled out her cell phone and checked the time.

"It's eight o'clock."

"Time surely flew by."

"Yep."

"It's been well over eight hours so I should be fine, right?"

"Well, not exactly. The potion might have settled in by now, but the old woman said in her own way that we won't completely know until tomorrow morning. If you show no other signs of being a werewolf between now and the next morning then you will have been cured of your curse. Then you and I will part ways…."

"I suppose so."

"Let's get back to the hotel before it gets too cold and dark."

Cody automatically took Bailey's hand and led her back to the hotel room within ten minutes. As soon as they were back in the comfort and safety of their hotel room, Bailey dropped her bag on the ground and Cody flopped on the bed. He took off his shoes and socks and then curled up to rest. Bailey took her shoes off as well and took out the screwdrivers and bolt cutters out of the bag. She brought the tools over to the bed and asked Cody to sit up so she could get the collar and bracelet off him. He grumbled but got up in a sitting position. Bailey tried different screwdrivers until one head was the right fit for the screws in the bracelet. Bailey carefully unscrewed the screws and after some patience, the bracelet fell of Cody's wrist. A smile curled up on Cody's face, but Bailey didn't want him to celebrate just yet.

"Don't get your hopes up just yet, Cody. I still need to get the collar off of your neck."

"I know, but I'm just so happy. Do you know how it feels to have some weight taken off of my body?"

"I'm sure you were in pain and discomfort. Now, please, sit still so I can get the shock collar off."

"Okay."

Cody sat still and didn't move another inch. Bailey positioned her body close to Cody's so that she could get a good angle of cutting off the shock collar. She was extremely careful with the bolt cutters as she found a spot to cut. With the blades rubbing against the metal collar, friction was created. Bailey pushed the blades with all her might and finally broke the shock collar in half. The piece of metal fell from around Cody's neck to the floor. Bailey heaved in a few heavy breaths and then placed the bolt cutter on the floor far away from the bed. She brushed her hands together and then dropped them at her sides as she sat down on the bed next to Cody.

"So, how do you feel?"

"I feel great. Not only did you free me of the collar and bracelet, but you also freed me of my curse."

"Well, you're a nice guy, Cody. You deserve to have a nice life. But I'm not quite sure about the curse. Let yourself rest for the night and then see how you feel by tomorrow. If you have no urges to eat humans or drink blood or whatever you feel then you can safely assume that you've been cured."

"You're right, Bailey. But thanks a bunch for helping me even it meant putting your life in danger or giving up your innocence as a teenager."

"You're welcome, Cody. I didn't mind helping you out. I know that if I was in your situation that I would want someone's help as well. And if I was the werewolf and I found you then you would have helped me, right?"

"Of course I would."

"That comforts me to know that."

"I'm glad to hear that, Bailey."

The conversation had died down. Both Cody and Bailey were trying thinking of something to keep the conversation going but nothing came to mind. Bailey wanted to make the night last with Cody because she knew that he would no longer need her help and that they were to return to their separate homes; hers in Kansas and his in Massachusetts. Bailey then thought of how she and Cody had shared some information about each other their families. Suddenly, Bailey got an idea for a conversation. She grinned at Cody.

"Hey, Cody."

"Yeah, Bailey?"

"You know how talked about your mom being a singer?"

"Yeah."

"Well, is it possible that you inherited her singing ability?"

"I did inherit her singing ability."

"Really? Could you sing a song to me?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I don't think that I'm as good as I used to be."

"Why? You think you only have a good singing voice for the shower?"

"No. It's not that. It's just that I feel self-conscious with the idea of singing in front of you."

"I'm not going to judge you, Cody. I just want to hear you sing."

"Why?"

"To pass the time."

"Oh…..Alright. I'll sing."

"Great! What will you sing for me?"

"I don't know….Maybe a song from The Phantom of the Opera. You know….because I was the Phantom on Halloween night."

"I know…."

"Um. Let's see…I know! I'll sing The Music of the Night."

Cody clears his throat and does a few vocal excises. Then he takes a deep breath and stares into Bailey's eyes.

"Now I'm ready. Are you ready?"

Bailey turns her body toward Cody's and scoots a little close to him.

"Now I'm ready."

"Okay then."

Bailey waits for Cody to begin singing the song. There's a pause and then Cody lets out his singing voice. Bailey could already tell that he had a nice singing voice and it was smooth yet somewhat masculine. But it wasn't rough or gruffy, it was just so. His voice is slow and steady but soft as well.

_Night time sharpens…_

_Heightens each sensation…_

_Darkness stirs… _

_And wakes imagination…_

_Silently the senses…_

_Abandon their defenses…_

As Cody sings, he is literally moved by the music. He scoots close to Bailey so that their knees are touching each other. He holds an intense stare on Bailey's face.

_Slowly, gently…_

_Night unfurls its splendor…_

_Grasp it, sense it_

_Tremulous and tender…_

_Turn your face away from the garish light of day…_

_Turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light and listen to…_

_The music of the night…_

_Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams…_

_Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before…_

_Close your eyes, let your spirit start to…_

_Soar….!_

_And you'll live as you never lived before…_

Cody lifts his right hand up and brings it up to Bailey's cheek. His thumb continuously slowly rubs across her cheek as he sings.

_Softly, deftly, music shall caress you…_

_Hear it, feel it, secretly possess you… _

As on cue, Cody uses the backside of his fingers and brushes the tips against Bailey's cheek and near her ear slowly, seductively. He caresses her twice: once with his hand and once with song he sings to her. Bailey can feel herself shiver. Her spine tingles and her skin becomes taut.

_Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind_

_In the darkness that you know you cannot fight the darkness of_

_The music of the night…_

_Let your mind start a journey through a strange new world_

_Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before…_

_Let your soul take you where you long to be…..!_

_Only then can you belong to me_

Cody leans his head close to Bailey's but keeps a small distance between his and Bailey's noses. His breath tickles her face.

_Floating, falling, sweet intoxication_

Cody has his left hand join his right one and gently captures Bailey's face in his palms.

_Touch me, trust me_

_Savor each sensation_

As Cody sings the next lines, he glides his hands down Bailey's neck and purposely breaths down her neck until his hands stop at the edge of her shoulders.

_Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in_

Cody gently pushes Bailey down on the bed and her arms fall on either side of her head. She is too entranced to fight back. Even if she had full control of her body and conscious, she wouldn't want to fight him. Cody runs his hands up her arms and then laces his fingers with hers.

_To the power of the music that I write_

_The power of…_

_The music of the night…_

Cody pauses. He stares at Bailey's brown eyes. He leans his head closer to hers almost close enough to kiss her but he does not place his lips on hers. He slides his hand down Bailey's body and takes off her shirt and throws it down. He follows the action by taking off his own shirt and tosses it aside. He then traces the contour lines of her abdomen with his hands and then brings them back up to her arms and locks hands with her again. His thumbs go back and forth against Bailey's hands as he holds them.

_You alone can make my song take flight…._

_Help me make…_

_The music of the…_

_Night…_

Cody finally finishes his song. Aside from the soft whisper of the wind from outside, everything else is silent. Cody and Bailey breathe in sync. In and out. Cody inhales and Bailey exhales. Cody vanquishes the accursed gap between their lips. After a sweet and short moment of pink and red lips meshing, Cody briefly pulls away.

"So, what did you think?"

"Romantic yet beautifully haunting music turns me on."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Kiss me."

Cody then understood what Bailey was feeling. Without hesitation, he returned his lips to their rightful home. Bailey eagerly invited Cody to push his tongue in her mouth and he cordially accepted the invitation. Cody and Bailey both had their finger interact with each other as their hands remained clasped together. Bare skin danced among its own kind. Cody and Bailey undulated their abdominals together and gradually increased their speed to gain momentum and produce heat. Cody's bare chest pressed against Bailey's breasts that were bound underneath the bra. Their bodies were hungry yet their conscious were acting as police officer enforcing the law preventing them from fulfilling their deepest desire. Cody and Bailey slow down and then altogether stop what they are doing. They pull away from one another's lips which make them quiver. Then they untangle their hands, regrettably. But they do not bother to move their bodies away. Cody insists that he stay right where he is on top of Bailey. He does not want to leave her for fear of losing a piece of his life to the deep underworld that is looked after Hades. He does not relinquish any part of his soul to any God of any culture and religion. He only wants to share it with Bailey. Cody knew that he loved Bailey and he also knew that love was many things. He knew that at the moment his love was greedy but he didn't care. He usually was against acting greedy but if there was one thing he'd rather keep to himself was Bailey's love even if it was the two of them. He was even suspicious of empty space. After some thought, Cody returned back to the situation at hand and gazed in Bailey's beautiful brown eyes, those perfect orbs of wisdom and kindness. Cody had let out a hot breath.

"Bailey?"

"Yes, Cody?"

"I love you and I really mean it. I'm saying now because I know we won't see each other for a long while."

"I love you too."

"Did you hear me correctly, Bailey? I really do mean that with all my heart and soul, I love you even though we haven't been on a date yet."

"I know. I meant what I said too."

"You did?"

"Yeah."

"But how?"

"After all we've been through; I can't help but let you know exactly how I feel without leaving out anything. It might be a little confusing considering of words we have exchange with each other but this is the plain truth."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Then what's the point of waiting for a date?"

"Just in case we might have not realized who we really fell in love with, but I highly doubt that will a problem."

"Then why…?"

"It's just a formality, Cody. We most likely won't see each other for a while. Plus, we can start off fresh with the date. You know, get to know each other through a different lens."  
"So, will this night be null and void after tomorrow morning comes?"

"No. We'll just let time and physical space divide us temporarily. Just think of our date as if we had known each other from past lives and our souls reconnect."

"Oh. I get it now."  
"Great. So, do you want to go to sleep?"

"May as well. We have to catch early trains."

"Okay. So, could you find the strength to roll off of me? I kind of have to move toward the pillows."  
Cody groaned.

"Don't worry, Cody. It won't be that bad. I promise that our bodies won't be separated by each other long."

"Fine."

Cody rolled off of Bailey's body and picked up both his and her shirts. He gave Bailey her shirt and threw on his own. Bailey then had put her shirt back on. The two of them quickly got underneath the sheets of the bed. Cody wraps his arms around Bailey from behind. Bailey digs her backside against Cody's front side.

"Cody?"

"Yeah, Bailey?"

"I was just wondering about something."

"What's that?"

"How are we going to keep in contact with each other before we part ways?"

"We'll swap contact information which will include phone numbers, e-mail addresses and home addresses."

"Okay. I guess that will work."

"It will."

"Huh."

"What?"

"We have one more day."

"Oh. Yes, we do. "

Cody solemnly rested his chin on Bailey's shoulder and added to his reply.

"One more day."

Bailey reaches over to the lamp and turns out the light. Everything goes dark.

To Be Continued…

**A/N: Life has recently got in the way and as of late the creativity juices have not been running properly in my brain. XD**


	20. Relief

Early in the morning, Cody and Bailey woke up and got ready to leave. They left the hotel room at eight which had been a half an hour since they rose from the bed. Bailey took a shower and changed into some news clothes and Cody took a shower after Bailey and clothed himself in the same clothes as the day before. Bailey grabbed her bag with everything in it and walked down to the lobby with Cody. The two of them checked out of the hotel and left. They then went to a coffee shop to have some breakfast before they would go to the train station.

At the train station, Cody and Bailey got two separate tickets and waited on a bench. Bailey gave Cody his clothing items from Halloween night and gave him the shirt that she got for him. It was a jade green color with 'New Orleans' stitched in the center of the shirt and there was the word 'Jazz' stitched underneath. "New Orleans' was in golden thread while 'Jazz' was in silver thread. It was nice yet casual. Cody was surprised that Bailey got him a shirt but he graciously accepted it and then pulled out the beaded necklace from his pants pocket and handed it over to Bailey. The necklace was the one that Bailey wanted the most. It had all of the Mardi Gras colors and each bead had one color in sequence such as gold, purple, green, gold…and so forth. Bailey was very thankful for Cody getting her the beaded necklace and he just flashed her a charming smile. Bailey immediately had put on her necklace and asked Cody how it looked. He told her that she looked great with it on and she gave him a small smile. Bailey then remembered that she and Cody would have to swap contact information so she reminded Cody and somehow they got a pen and a piece of paper and tore the paper in half and shared the pen. Once they had written down their contact information, they swapped pieces of paper. After waiting for ten minutes, Bailey's train came first. She and Cody stood up together and looked at each other.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now."

"I guess so. Uh, have a safe trip back home, Bailey."

"Thanks. I will, Cody."

"Well, goodbye then."

"Goodbye, Cody."

Cody and Bailey hug goodbye and then they part from the embrace. Bailey walks up to the train and briefly looks back at Cody and waves goodbye to him. He waves back, sadly. Bailey gives Cody a sad smile and then boards the train. Cody watches Bailey as she walks in the train to find a spot. Once all of the passengers had boarded, the train doors close and the train starts moving. Cody stands alone with his belongings still on the bench and he sees Bailey sitting at a window seat. He stares at her until he can no longer see her or the train. He goes back to the bench and waits for another twenty minutes before he boards his train. When the time comes, Cody collects his things and gets on. He searches for a window seat and finds a vacant spot near a window that has been stained with dust and dirt from the outside. He sits down and bunches his belongings in a ball. But he takes out his shirt Bailey got for him and puts it over his current shirt. The shirt was a nice fit. Cody could tell that Bailey had paid attention to the size and dimensions of his abdominal area. The train departed the station after five minutes of waiting. For most of the trip, Cody was forlorn. He stared out his window which was halfway opaque but he didn't care. He didn't need to see what was outside; he just needed to stare at something. But he did not dare to stare out in space near a person who else he would have been accused of being a creeper and he didn't want to feel that way. For most of the train ride, Cody was silent and thinking of Bailey. She was his mate, his lover, his life partner. No matter how Cody looked at it, Bailey and he were meant to meet and fall in love. Cody sighed with an air of desolation when he thought of Bailey. When the terribly lonely and boring train ride was over, Cody collected his things, got off the train and then headed for the St. Louis airport to take him home back to Boston.

By four in the afternoon, Cody arrived in Boston. He found the nearest pay phone he could find and inserted a few quarters that he had from breaking down his expenses while travelling back home. He called the Tipton Hotel and informed Mr. Moseby that he was at Login International Airport and asked him if he could give him a lift back to the hotel. Mr. Moseby was glad to hear Cody again and agreed to bring him back to his mother and Zack but mostly to his mom, Carey. She had been worried sick about him, crying herself to sleep on weeks on end and being consoled by Zack until Kurt would drop by and take over. Mr. Moseby updated Cody on everything that happened from the time he left near the end of the summer to when they heard word of his return. Cody felt honored that Mr. Moseby cared about him and felt absolutely horrible on what pain he had made his mom go through. He knew he didn't do it on purpose but he felt responsible for all that happened to his mom. Cody thanked Mr. Moseby for the update and asked him when he would be able to him up and Mr. replied that Cody would have to wait for twenty to thirty minutes. Cody was fine with the arrangement However, before Mr. Moseby said goodbye to Cody, he did clarify that his mom would have picked him up herself but she was busy doing her job and Mr. Moseby didn't want to deprave her of her paycheck and wanted her to stay busy with other things while she waited for Cody to come home. Cody understood what Mr. Moseby meant and then said goodbye. Mr. Moseby said goodbye as well and then hung up on Cody. In the meantime, Cody walked around the airport and found a bathroom. He used the facilities and then searched for a gift shop or stand and found one. Cody knew that he would have to do so much more than give his mom a gift but he thought it was a start as way to apologize for being gone for so long.

When Cody had gotten Carey a gift and was ready to be picked up, he waited ten minutes before Mr. Moseby came by. Cody met Mr. Moseby outside and they talked for a little bit on the drive back to the Tipton Hotel. As soon as Cody got through the lobby doors, Maddie ran up to him and gave him a big bear hug. She hugged him so hard that his lungs almost collapsed. Cody begged Maddie to put him down and she did. Then London waltzed over and gave Cody a genuine hug although not as passionate as Maddie's. All the sudden Arwin and Esteban came by and were extremely happy and extremely surprised to see Cody. They hugged him and asked what he had been doing and Cody tried his best to explain everything that happened to him and where he was without giving away any personal details. Everyone including Mr. Moseby listened in on Cody's tale. They were skeptical at first of his story but the farther he went along and how he mentioned about New Orleans and Zack then they surely began to believe him. Everyone thought: leave it to Zack to ruin his brother's life without meaning to. Once Cody was done telling his story, he then went up to his family's suite and knocked on the door. Zack opened the door and broke into tears and groveled at Cody's feet. Cody didn't know what to say about Zack's sudden actions. All he knew that it was just plain weird how Zack quickly made a salty stream of tears around his worn shoes. Cody yanked Zack up from the backside of his shirt and lightly slapped him on the cheek.

"Zack! Get a grip on yourself."

Zack wiped away the running snot from his nose and heaved.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I'm so glad to know that you're alive, bro! I missed you so much. I even tried harder with my school work as a way to remember you as a person."

"Oh, that's good, Zack! Is mom happy with your grades?"

"Yeah but she cared about where you were this whole time. I was too and dad has been visiting more often than before."

"I know. I heard from Mr. Moseby."

Zack began to cry again.

"It's just so good to see you, Cody! I am so, so, so, so sorry that I royally screwed up your life. I promise from this day on until we die, I won't put you down or screw up your life and I'll totally be supportive of whatever you do."

"Thanks, man. That really means a lot to me. But you didn't screw up my life that badly."

"What do you mean?"

"Uh, never mind. The point is that I'm back home in one piece and that we start being a whole family again."

"Oh, that sounds great, Cody."

Zack then lungs at Cody and brings him in for tight and loving embrace. Cody would hug Zack back but his hands were occupied. Zack didn't mind though. He was just happy to have his brother back in his life. Zack released Cody after a minute or so and then led him back to their old room and showed Cody that he had preserved his space of the bedroom proving to him that he didn't touch any of his stuff while he was gone and occasionally used an aerosol-free air freshener to make Cody's space smell good. Cody placed his things on his bed and then gave Zack a warm brotherly hug.

"Thanks, man."

"It was the least I could once you left."

"But I still appreciate the gesture."

"You're welcome, bro."

Cody then briefly talked to Zack about what happened to him and Zack believed every word Cody said. After some time, Zack looked down and saw the 'New Orleans' shirt that Cody was wearing.

"Yo, Cody, is that a new shirt?"

Cody briefly looked down at the shirt Bailey got him and then looked back up at Zack.

"Yeah."

"Where did you get it?"

"Actually, I didn't get it. Bailey did."

"Bailey? Who's Bailey?"  
"Bailey is a girl that I met while I was away. She helped me get back to New Orleans and lift the curse that was meant for you because you pissed off a Voodoo shopkeeper back when we turned sixteen."

"Oh, yeah….I remember that. I can't blame the shopkeeper for confusing us. But sucks for you for being stuck as a werewolf. Was it cool at all being a lone wolf on an adventure?"

"No. I had stay in hiding most of the time."

"Oh…Well, back to Bailey…"

Then Zack crossed his arms, tilted his head to the side and fashioned a smug look on his face. Cody looked at Zack like he was crazy.

"What Zack?"

"So, Bailey's a girl…"

Cody didn't like where this was going.

"Yeah, so?"

"So, what's she like? Where is she from?"

"She has nine sisters, lives with her three youngest sisters, her parents and grandmother. She's beautiful, smart, kind and trustworthy. She has long, silky brown hair with stunning brown eyes. She's from Kettlecorn, Kansas."

"Wow. She sounds interesting."

"She is wonderful. But she's mine."

"Whoa, dude. Possessive much?"

"Well, I'm just saying that you can't have her if you wanted her. You might meet her someday."

"Are you sure I would want to know what see what she looks like? You and I do have different taste in girls."

"Our tastes may be different but I assure you, any guy would be attracted to her."

"If you say so, dude."

"Bailey is beautiful both inside and outside and that is fact and not an opinion."

"Whatever, Cody. Mom's going to be up in an hour so whatever business you have to do, do it now.

Cody rolled his eyes as Zack. "Whatever."

Cody settles back into the family suite and Zack goes on to play a video game. Cody finds his computer and looks at Cheever's High website. While he and Zack wait for their mom to get back, Cody makes plans to transfer back into school so he can graduate from high school and go to college. When Carey gets back to the family suite, she is shocked and filled with absolute euphoria to see her younger son at the table on his computer. It's as if everything before was one long nightmare and it had finally ended. Carey yelped in happiness and cried tears of joy as she ran over to Cody and hugged him. Cody realized that his mom was hugging him and so he stood up. But Carey had never let go of Cody even when he was standing up. The two of them hugged and held each other and told each other how much they missed the other one for ten minutes. Once the ten minutes had passed, Carey finally had let go of Cody. She told him everything from start to finish and then made dinner. Cody helped her prepare the food. When dinner was ready all three of them caught up with each other's lives and Carey asked about Cody's shirt and talked about Bailey. Carey suddenly was extremely interested on whom Bailey was and Cody told her and Zack what Bailey was like and she helped him get cured but he opted out the details of the times when they cavorted in sexual activity. After dinner, Carey made the unexpected announcement of how she and Kurt had planned on getting remarried. Both Zack and Cody were in complete shock. Carey sat Cody and Zack down on the couch and explained how her and their father had reconnected and fell in love again but in totally different way and after all that said and done, Cody and Zack accepted the fact that their parents were getting remarried.

Afterwards, Cody gave Carey her gift and then made arrangements with her to get him back in school so he could graduate from high and go off to college. He also washed the dishes and had put everything away as part of his apology for being away from home for so long, but Carey was just grateful to have him back. She was also endorsing in the thought on where things would go for Cody with Bailey. She thought that she would like to meet the farm girl someday. By eleven at night, Cody and Zack went to bed. Carey said goodnight to them and kissed them on the foreheads and then closed the door. Carey smiled to herself as she got ready for bed. Her Cody was back home where he belonged and he had found a very special girl named Bailey Pickett. Once Carey was in her pajamas, she turned out the light and scuttled to the sofa that she had already made as a bed. Then she got underneath the sheets and fell asleep.

Back in Kettlecorn, Bailey was in her bed thinking of Cody. She stroked the top of her toy bunny's head as hope seeped into her heart. The intelligent farm girl closed her eyes and imagined a world where she and Cody were together either in a rose garden or a tropical island. They would be completely alone and Cody would keep her in his arms late at night. Bailey happily sighed and then opened her eyes again. She looked around her room and knew that she would be spending many nights yearning for Cody's touch again in the near future. Bailey knew that when she desired to have him by her side that she would feel especially lonely those nights. Bailey laid down, reached up and turned off the light. She brought the covers to her chest and stared out her window constantly thinking of her once was werewolf. As the darkness engulfed the Kansas sky, time took a toll on Bailey's body and mind. She yawned and closed her eyes to be greeted to a pleasant alternate life that had been produced by her psyche. Even though Bailey didn't know it, one chapter closed on both hers and Cody's lives. A new one waited to be revealed beyond the horizon.

To Be Continued…


	21. Moon Set, Sun Rise

Ten months. It had been ten months since Cody and Bailey had said goodbye in New Orleans. Ten months since Cody got to go back to his old life and do well in school and graduating in the top two percent. He would have graduated in the top one percent but he was behind in social standing and he had to get the teachers to like him again. During that time, Zack's grades didn't drop substantially but just enough so that he went from a straight B student to a B and C student. Nevertheless, Zack had done better in school more so than compared to the rest of his academic career once Cody had disappeared from his life. At least he wasn't getting any D's while Cody ranked back up to a straight A student.

When Cody had been back home for about a month, Carey and Kurt came to the family suite together and announced to Zack and Cody that the wedding would be held on December tenth and that they were the best men. Zack rolled his eyes but Cody's eyes glimmered with joy. Carey and Kurt also told their sons that they would have small ceremony at the hotel and that Mr. Moseby would marry them. Zack and Cody both seemed fine with arrangement but Cody asked what will be done about the food. Kurt asked Cody is he also would like to make a menu but allow Chef Palo to cook since he'll be busy being a best man. Cody agreed with the proposal. The wedding was a success and Cody couldn't have been happier.

Another continuous event that occurred during the ten month period until Cody saw Bailey again was that they sent each other texts every other day, called each other at night most nights, and sent letters to each other. At first when they sent letter, Cody and Bailey were playful with each other simply informing the other what was the biggest news of that day or week. As time went on, Cody and Bailey got a little more romantic writing letters to each other and then eventually some saucy sentences here and there. There were a few occasions where they would give the other one a photo of themselves that went with a letter. Cody sent Bailey a photo of him with Zack and his parents after the wedding and explained in the letter what was going on in the photo. Bailey sent Cody a photo of her and Diane sitting next to each other on the couch just being two sisters looking like how siblings should look: loving yet annoying. Diane was trying to push Bailey out of the frame but Bailey fought back or at least that's what it looked like to Cody while he looked at the photograph.

One May evening when Cody and Zack were done with their homework and they were getting ready for high school graduation, Cody was admiring one of Bailey's latest photos of her while he lounged on his bed. It was just a picture of Bailey sitting back on her bed but she wore an outfit that got Cody's blood flowing. The outfit wasn't terribly revealing but it was revealing enough to get a guy's attention and leave the rest to his imagination. As Cody looked at Bailey in the photo, he rubbed one of his thighs as a way to comfort himself since his mind was busy driving him crazy. All he thought about was him and Bailey spending quality time together. Most of his short fantasies involved a secluded area, at night and in the most private part of a house or cabin and somewhere in the woods or rainforest. Cody could feel his mind get all fuzzy and his groin area was warming up. But just before Cody could go any further with his fantasy of seducing Bailey, Zack barged in the room and saw the photo. He snatched it from Cody's hand and looked at him. He guessed that the beautiful girl in the photo was Bailey and even Zack had to admit that Cody was right: she was beautiful. More than beautiful, she was hot! Zack could even feel himself warm up. Cody took the photo from Zack's hands before he could begin to drool and whacked him in the head stating that only he was allowed to be aroused by Bailey's photo. Zack pleaded Cody to share Bailey with him and Cody explained that there are certain things and people that you don't share and Bailey wasn't a girl to be 'shared' between twin brothers. Zack then begged Cody if he could borrow the photo and Cody whacked Zack again in the head stating that Bailey is too good for anything to happen to her or to photos of her with a guy she hasn't met or like. Cody then went on to say that even he wouldn't try to please himself in the presence of Bailey's photo but certainly had the right to if he wanted to. Zack grumbled wondering why and how Cody got such a hot girl to talk with him. Cody told Zack to bug off since he was in the middle of spending some time with Bailey or at least her photo. Fortunately, the little incident with Bailey's playful and saucy picture was taken care of and Cody kept it in a safe place.

When summer rolled around, Cody and Bailey continued to communicate with each other through photos, letters, texts and phone calls. There were times when Cody talked to Bailey after dinner for two straight hours just romancing her over the phone. On occasion on a weekend night, Bailey would call Cody to seduce him or when she had a bad day the she would vent to him. When he was being seduced over the phone, Cody could always feel his pants tighten. When Bailey called him to vent about her family and friends to him, he felt honored that she told him about her problems. He knew that they shared a real love and that made him happy. It had all the right elements that signified their love as something strong and very real: passion, lust, playfulness, innocence, compassion and understanding. Cody was convinced that his love for Bailey was real not just because of the elements that it so but also because they would fight and make up. They even laughed over childhood memories that they shared. And when it was indicated in a letter that one of them got an injury or a little sick, one of them would console other through a phone call with their voices laced with worry. However, they still yearned to be near each other because there was nothing quite like being able to touch and hold the one you loved. Physical touch and feel was one the thing that Cody and Bailey lacked and wanted the most. But all of that changed when they had decided to go to Yale together. Bailey could only get a scholarship to there and Cody was able to go to any college that Bailey was able to go to. And so, once summer was over, Cody and Bailey made their way to Yale and contacted each other for the first two weeks of classes before they could settle on a day to meet with each other since they had not coordinated to try to get classes together. They would fix that problem the next semester and for the future years to come.

Cody and Bailey finally made plans to have their first date together on a Saturday night after the third week was up. They would have met a week prior but they got a little busy. On Saturday night, Cody dressed up in laced black vans, black slacks, a dark blue collared shirt and a green, light jacket. He checked his wrist watch to see when he had to pick up Bailey at her dorm room and saw that he had ten minutes. He quickly grabbed his wallet and cell phone and shoved them in his front and back right pants pockets. The cell phone went in the front and the wallet went in the back. Cody then grabbed a bouquet of half a dozen Irises and a box and card that he could carry in one hand. Then he grabbed his keys and left the room locking it behind him. He made a mad dash to Bailey's dorm room and made it a minute before he had to pick her up. Cody got his breath and then knocked the door. Bailey opened it and had a wide smile on her face. She was wearing a blue and white dress that had an empire waist and went just past her knees. The dress was accompanied with a pair of white flats.

"Hi, Cody! You're just on time."

"Thanks. This is for you."

Cody then hands Bailey the Irises. She has a sparkle in her eyes.

"Cody, you remembered…..How sweet."

"Oh, it's no big deal. But you might want to put them in some water because I have two more things to give you."

"Oh, Cody, that's not necessary. I'm just glad that you came. The Irises were icing on the cake for me. What else could you possible give me?"

"Chocolate sprinkles and cherry to go with the icing."

"Very funny."

Cody playfully shoes Bailey away so she'll put the Irises in a vase of water.

"Just put the Irises in some water and come back."

"Alright."  
Bailey rolled her eyes in amusement and left Cody. When she got the flowers in a vase with water, she came back to Cody as soon as possible.

"So, what else do you have for me, Candy gram man?"

Cody then gave Bailey a card sealed in an envelope and a red box. Bailey opened the card first and read it. When she was done reading the card, Bailey had a huge smile on her radiant face.

"That was a really sweet card, Cody."

"I know, but now you got to open the box."

"Okay."

Bailey carefully opens the red box and finds a snow globe in it. The snow globe had a miniature replica of Dorothy Gale and Toto in her picnic basket standing underneath a rainbow. If it was even possible, Bailey's smile had widened and then she flung her body onto Cody's and brought him into a tight and loving embrace.

"Thank you so much."

Cody rubbed Bailey's back before he drew away from the hug.

"I just remembered that you were Dorothy Gale last Halloween and I knew you liked snow globe so I got you this."

"Thank you, Cody. I really love it."

"I'm glad. May we go and start our first date?"

"Just a moment. Come in while I take care of a few things."

"Okay."

Cody walked inside Bailey's dorm room as he waited Bailey to be ready. Bailey had set down the card and snow globe safely on her desk next to the vase of Irises and grabbed her small handbag that carried her personal belongings and a white sweater to go with the rest of her outfit. Once she had all that she needed, Bailey then looped her right arm through Cody's left one.

"Now, we may go."

"Wonderful."

Cody and Bailey leave the dorm room and Bailey locks it behind her and Cody.

The date went smoothly. Cody and Bailey first went to a café for dinner and then they saw a comedy at the movie theatre. Afterwards, they found a park to take a night stroll through. Midway through their stroll, a young man around their age got in their way. He appeared to have his eyes glued on Bailey.

"Hey, cutie. What are you doing with this dud? You can hang onto my arm."

Bailey was flabbergasted and offended. Cody was just plain outraged. He immediately walked in front of Bailey and stood in between her and the guy.

"Excuse me, you asshole, but I don't appreciate you hitting on my girlfriend. So, if you don't mind, we'd like to finish our walk."

The guy just laughed. He doubled over and was laughing so hard that he was crying. Cody could feel a large amount of adrenaline rushing through his system. He could feel another feeling but he couldn't identify what it was. As soon as the guy was standing up straight, Cody gave him a punishing blow to the stomach which made him fly ten feet back through the air and had hit a tree. Cody unclutched his fist.

"What an idiot."

Bailey casually approached Cody and patted his back to calm him.

"You might have been cured but there always will be some little bit of werewolf staying dormant most of the time. I guess you called it for some help."

Cody quickly turned his head toward Bailey.

"What do you mean? That was sheer adrenaline and anger."

"Cody, don't try to cover up. You know you also had some killer instinct in there. But you had the decency to hold back."

"You really think so, Bailey?"

"I'm pretty sure. Don't worry about it though, Cody. You're a full human and that's all that matters. It's just that you have a fragment of your werewolf side somewhere inside of you. You're more like ninety nine percent human."

"But-"

Bailey placed her fight index finger over Cody's lips.

"Shh…Everything is fine. I'll love you no matter what or who you are. You're my Cody."

Then Bailey took her finger off Cody's lips and then playfully rubbed his ear lobes with her fingers and thumbs. Cody began to happily pound a foot. Bailey leaned in and whispered in one of Cody's ears.

"Besides, I'll be needing you to have extra energy for future love making."

Blood rushed to Cody's cheeks. Bailey had let of Cody's ears and blew in each one as her hands rested on his shoulders. Cody felt weak in the knees. Bailey finally drew away.

"Plus, it's nice that my boyfriend can defend me. Thank you, Cody."

"You're welcome."

Bailey bit her lip and smiled. She took Cody's left hand and they strolled right out of the park. They walked back to campus and Cody escorted Bailey back to her dorm room.

"Thanks for a great time, Cody."

"It was my pleasure. When will we get to see each other again?"

"That's up to you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, after our little run in with that jerk, I'd thought that you would want to keep your girlfriend safe from sexual predators. My roommate, Clair, won't be back until tomorrow night so I'd thought you want to keep my company, Cody."

Cody didn't get what Bailey was getting at. Then he suddenly got the message when Bailey flashed him a flirtatious smile and leaned against her dorm room's door even so slightly licking the tip of her top lip. Cody's mouth was dry.

"OH."

"You don't have to stay with me tonight if you don't want to. You can stay with me if you want 'mark your territory'."

Cody's mouth twitched.

"Bailey, we shouldn't be in the same room at this time of night."

"Why not? We're in college. It's not like we're at some academy or boarding school or some other college prep school. This is it. But regardless what your decision is, I'll respect it and I'll still be grateful for this night."

Bailey then grabbed onto Cody's shoulders and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek. She pulled back and turned toward the door and fiddled with her keys to find the right one for the lock. Once Bailey opened the door to the room, Cody could feel something boil up inside of him. Before Bailey could cross the threshold, Cody grabbed onto her waist from behind and breathed heavily on her neck. Bailey had a wicked and most satisfied grin on her face. Cody began to nibble onto Bailey's neck and dug his hands into Bailey's sides. He didn't have claws or fangs but he still retained an animalistic lust and a killer instinct. Bailey invited Cody inside of her dorm room and from that moment on, Cody and Bailey were never again separated. They had a happy and healthy relationship with a little extra spice as compared to other couples on campus.

The next Halloween night, Bailey went as a sexy yet playful school girl with her hair in pigtails. She got the attention of other guys' and purposely provoked and seduced Cody. She wore knee high socks, black high heels, a short, red skirt, button up shirt, a red necktie, and plastic, black glasses. She wanted Cody to make it clear to other guys that she was his. As for Cody, he had dressed up as a high school teacher with a plastic ruler as a prop. And he certainly kept Bailey close to him and kept other guys to stay away from them. And there were days long after that Halloween night in which Cody would discipline his naughty student and give her a lesson she wouldn't forget. Many months afterwards were full of meaningful bonding time that included intellectual and emotional connections. But there would be times when Bailey would wake up the small part of Cody's werewolf-like side if they had a very long dry spell of sexual activity. Certainly, they would have friendly competition and would partake in physical activities such as Ping-Pong, mini golf, bowling and the like when they didn't need to wrestle naked in bed.

Long after their undergrad studies and Medical School, Cody and Bailey kept staying strong and loving each other to no end. They led happy lives being happily married. When the time came, they would have their first child out of three early in their marriage. Cody and Bailey had left their worries behind them and shared the rest of their lives together. They finally could feel that their lives were complete.

The End.


End file.
